How Chase Ultimate Rewards Saved Us over $50,000 on Plane Tickets

No, that title is not a typo. Recently Luis and I booked two flights using credit card rewards points. The first flight was a one way flight in business class on Iberia Airlines, non-stop from Boston to Madrid. The second was a round trip flight in first class on board All Nippon Airlines, non-stop from San Francisco to Tokyo Narita. If we had paid cash, those same redemptions would have cost us $53,495. Now, being completely honest, we would never pay that much for a flight. Truthfully, I don’t think many people ever actually pay the full ticket price for first class tickets. Still, it is an amazing feeling to see those numbers when you don’t have to pay them.

Earning the Points

There are several different points programs, and picking the right one for your situation can be difficult. If you always or nearly always fly on a single airline, then it usually makes the most sense to join that airline’s frequent flyer program. Luis and I, however, will fly whatever airline works with our destination, dates, and budget. On our trip to Shanghai, we flew with Asiana. Singapore, we flew United. Iceland we are flying on Delta. On other recent trips we have flown on Jetblue, Miami Air, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. We just aren’t loyal enough to justify investing in any airline specific credit cards.

Instead, we decided to invest in a travel rewards program that could be used for a multitude of airlines. The three main points programs that are available include Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi Thank You Points. Each program has different strengths and weaknesses, and different partners, but in the end we decided to go with Chase Ultimate Rewards.

The Ultimate Rewards Cards
The three cards we used to get our free flights. Chase Freedom, Sapphire Preferred, and Ink Business Preferred

Ultimately, we have four cards that are able to earn us Ultimate Rewards. The first is the Chase Freedom, which does not earn Ultimate Rewards points on it’s own, but can transfer points to another card which does earn points. We then have a Chase Ink Business Preferred, and we each have our own Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Sign Up Bonuses

The bulk of our points came from initial bonuses just for getting the cards and reaching a minimum spend amount. These bonus points are not repeatable, but they do offer a very large head start towards reaching your first redemption. The Chase Ink Preferred business card came with an 80,000 point sign up bonus. The Chase Sapphire Reserve originally had a 100,000 bonus, which I was able to take advantage of, but it currently only has a 50,000 bonus, which is what Luis received. Still, for the three cards that was 230,000 points. Enough points for the first class ANA redemption, which runs 220,000 points.

Intelligent Spending

Aside from the sign up bonuses, the other way to quickly earn a lot of points is to maximize the bonus opportunities. The Chase Freedom has rotating categories; every quarter a few new categories will earn 5x points. The Sapphire Reserve, on the other hand, has a set of static bonus categories; 3x the points on all travel and dining purchases. By consistently using the right card for each purchase, you can rapidly earn the points needed for a redemption.

The Redemptions

Now, for the fun part! Once you’ve earned enough points it’s time to start planning some trips. Now, just because Chase is not affiliated with a single airline does not mean you can transfer to anybody; Chase currently partners with only 9 airlines. Still, with the proper planning and knowing about alliances, your options are nearly limitless. The 9 airlines Chase can transfer points to include: British Airways, Air France, Singapore Airlines, United, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Korean Air, Iberia, and Aer Lingus.

Business Class on Iberia Airlines

Since Iberia is partnered with Chase, we were able to easily transfer points from our Ultimate Rewards account directly to Iberia. Iberia has an award chart that varies by route and time of year, but for BOS-MAD in October the normal fare would be 34,000 points per person from the east coast or 42,500 points from the west coast, each way. We were able to find a special deal, where our flight would only be 25,500 points each, but we had to fly from Boston.

Since we live in Nevada, Boston is quite a ways away for a flight, but a deal’s a deal. A quick check on Google Flights, and we were able to find a flight from Salt Lake City to Boston for only $100 per person on Delta in basic economy.

Business Class for 2 on Iberia would have cost us $13,000 had we paid cash

The cash price for a first class ticket from Boston to Madrid on our travel dates is currently $13,024.80 for two people. Instead, we booked it for 51,000 points, $180 in taxes, and $206 for a flight to Boston. Our total savings? $12,638.

First Class on ANA

Unlike Iberia, ANA is not a partner with Chase. However, three of Chase’s partners have the ability to book ANA flights: United, Singapore, and Virgin Atlantic. Each option has pros and cons; United has the lowest taxes, Singapore allows you to book one way awards, and Virgin Atlantic offers redemptions for the fewest points.

Ultimately, because of the amazing value, we went with Virgin Atlantic for our redemption. Virgin Atlantic can book first class on ANA for only 110,000 points round trip from the west coast, or 120,000 points from the east coast. Compare this to United which charges the same amount of miles for only one way. That puts Virgin Atlantic in a very sweet spot for Asia redemptions. There are a couple of downsides; you have to book a round trip ticket, it has to be non-stop (which means there are only a small handful of eligible US airports), and seats only become available 336 days out. There are only 2 seats on each plane available for these reduced rates, so it is possible that travelers booking directly with ANA or with another partner have already booked all the available award seats. Still, if your dates are somewhat flexible and you can book almost a year in advance, Virgin Atlantic offers an amazing redemption opportunity for ANA.

Round trip First Class tickets on ANA would have cost us over $40,000 if we had paid cash

The cash price for a first class ticket from San Francisco to Tokyo and back on our travel dates is currently $40,470.44 for two people. Instead, we booked it for 220,000 points, and $513 in taxes. Our total savings? $39,957.

That’s a grand total of $52,595 in savings over two trips.

Travel Hacking: Wyndham Rewards Mattress Run

Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Resort – Courtesy of Wyndham Hotels

Occasionally companies may offer special promotions that can be a great deal for future adventures. Currently Wyndham Rewards is offering a promotion for one free night at any Wyndham hotel after staying just two separate times. Wyndham Rewards is already a great value because of their flat redemption options. With just 15,000 points you can stay for free at any hotel under the Wyndham brand. Normally, you earn 10 points per dollar spent at a Wyndham property, with a minimum of 1,000 points per stay. That means that normally it takes 15 stays to earn a free night. With this promotion cutting that down to only two stays, the value is amazing.

In fact, the value is so great that you may even want to consider making a mattress run to get these points before the promotion expires.

What is a Mattress Run?

You may have already heard of a Mattress Run, or the somewhat related Mileage Run. If you are not familiar, a Mattress Run is when you reserve a hotel that you don’t need just to earn loyalty points. While it might seem like a waste, there are times where the value of the points earned can be higher than the cost of a hotel room. Wyndham Hotel Group is a perfect candidate for this, especially with the current promotion. Wyndham includes a wide variety of hotel brands, including some budget offerings such as Days Inn and Super 8. Depending on your location you can often find a budget hotel under the Wyndham umbrella for under $40 a night. Even if you don’t need a hotel right now, for only $80 you can earn 15,000 points and get a free night at any Wyndham hotel worldwide.

In order for the stay to count you have to actually check in, so you can’t just find a random hotel clear across the country and reserve a night. The easiest way to complete a mattress run is to book the cheapest hotel close to your house, check in, leave the key in the room, and then go home.

The Wyndham Rewards Promotion

As mentioned above, the promotion just requires two stays at a Wyndham property during the promotion period. Your two stays must be completed before June 30th, 2018, and must be two separate reservations, not just two nights. You also have to have a Wyndham Rewards account and register for the promotion.

Registering for the Promotion

To register for this promotion you must first have a Wyndham Rewards account. This account is free to create at the Wyndham Hotels website. Once you have an account and are logged in, go to the promotion page and register for the promotion. Once that’s done you are good to go and are free to start booking your stays.

Promotion Rules
  • You must have a Wyndham Rewards Account
  • You must register for the promotion on Wyndham Hotel’s website
  • There must be two completed stays at a Wyndham property by June 30th, 2018
  • The room must be booked directly through the hotel. You can book:
    • Online at WyndhamHotels.com
    • Online at the specific chain’s website
    • Via phone to the hotel or Wyndham’s Toll Free reservation line
  • No shows do not count; you must actually check in to the hotel
Getting the Most out of the Promotion
Wyndham Bali Kai Villas – Courtesy of Wyndham Hotels

In order to maximize the value of this promotion, you should focus on two points. First, minimize the cost of your two stays. If you were already planning on staying at a Wyndham property you don’t have to worry about this, but it is particularly important for Mattress Runs. Mid-week stays at budget properties will usually offer you the best prices, but it can vary depending on your geographic location. Days Inn, Super 8, and Travelodge are often the cheapest options, but it’s a good idea to search all Wyndham properties via the Wyndham website to get the best deals for your area.

The second part of the equation is deciding where to spend your free night. Wyndham Grand resorts often offer the best redemption value, although Ramada and a number of Las Vegas casinos, including Harrah’s, Caesar’s Palace, and the Rio can also offer an amazing value. Wyndham has also recently added vacation homes and condos to their offerings, adding even more amazing redemption opportunities. Peak season rates at some of these properties can start at $300 a night. That means that for about $80 you can earn 15,000 Wyndham Rewards points and get a free night valued at over $300. Without the promotion, it would take 15 stays to earn a free night, which would cost you at least $600. This represents an amazing value and an excellent opportunity to splurge at a resort you may otherwise never get to experience.

For some more ideas on where to redeem your free night, check out our post on the 10 Best Award Redemptions for Wyndham Rewards.

10 Best Award Redemptions for Wyndham Rewards

Travel Hacking: Mileage Run Explained

Flights to Nowhere – With a mileage run the destination doesn’t matter, only the distance
Origin of the Mileage Run

If you are experienced in the points and miles game you are likely already aware of mileage run. Originally mileage runs were a way for flyers to get a large number of frequent flyer miles. People could find a long haul flight for a relatively cheap price and fly round trip to rack up the miles. Recently, however, airlines have mostly switched to a revenue based model. This means that instead of earning frequent flyer miles based on distance, you earned them based on the ticket cost. This could have been the end of mileage runs, but instead they just evolved.

State of the Mileage Run Today

Today mileage runs are utilized more for gaining or maintaining status. Even though a cheap long haul flight will no longer earn many redeemable miles, they still count towards elite status. To earn elite status with an airline you need two things; qualifying miles and qualifying spend. Unlike redeemable frequent flyer miles, qualifying miles are still granted based on distance. Mileage runs can help build up these elite qualifying miles, although they still won’t help with the spend requirement.

Because of this limitation, a mileage run only makes sense for a few specific types of travelers. First, is a traveler who makes many short but expensive flights. This could be a business traveler who books flights in first class or on a fully refundable fare. These flyers will often have a high spend but a low total mileage, so completing a mileage run at the end of the year could be perfect.

The other type of traveler who could benefit from a mileage run would be one who utilizes an airline credit card. Spend on an airline branded credit card, even for expenses not directly related to a flight, counts towards an elite spend waiver. The total spend is much higher when using a credit card, typically around $25,000 a year, but if a passenger is spending that much every year then they can reach the spend requirement without hitting the mileage requirement. In this case a mileage run could be their only opportunity to reach elite status.

Value of Elite Status

Even if you could earn elite status using a mileage run, you are still looking at several hundred dollars in otherwise unnecessary costs. In order to determine if a mileage run is worth the cost and time you have to put a value on the status you can reach. Elite status is more valuable the more you fly with perks such as free upgrades, bonus miles, and fee waivers. Typically, this means that the people who will get the most out of a mileage run are frequent flyers who spend a lot, but need a small boost of miles to reach a higher tier of status.