Hi All,
First post, hope this section is appropriate (mods please feel free to move and/or slap my hands 😀 ). Trying to start to plan for a couple of big trips to mark some life milestones and looking for some advice & guidance.
For background, I'm on the West Coast, SFO is my "home airport" and have a decent number of miles on United (~270K) and a smaller number on Alaska (~140K). I'd like to take two big trips (at least for me) next year, one to Hawaii in early next year, and then the really big one, to Europe in Fall of next year. Since there will be a nice chunk of change associated with these trips (hotels, VRBO, airfare), I thought it would be a good idea to look into opening a new CC to get the mileage bonus to possibly leverage on reducing the airfare (would really like to sit in the front of the plane another time in my life), and potentially other goodies.
So the Hawaii trip will be pretty straightforward, going to Maui, and looking at a split between hotel & VRBO. I read that the Hotel Wailea and the Grand Wailea are gorgeous, and I'm also looking a VRBO in Wailea as well. Any thoughts on these options would be appreciated. The Europe on will be a little more complicated, I'd like to fly direct to London, spend some time there, head over to Amsterdam, and then to Germany for a bit before flying back to the East Coast so I can do the fall leaf color change, spending a week or so driving. Also totally open to flying to another initial destination (e.g. Germany, then Amsterdam, then London or another city that makes sense). On the return, not sure here whether it would be better to fly into NYC, or Boston, or ?? so advice would be wonderful & recommendations on B&Bs in the area would be superlative.
On to the CCs, I've read about the Capital Venture X card, the Chase Sapphire, the United Club Card and the Atmos Summit Card. I've got pretty good credit, so I think I'd qualify for them, but as I said, I'd like to make this trip super special; input on which card might provide the best bang for the buck (e.g. lounge access, particularly for the Europe trip, and/or pumping up one of my mileage program so I might be able to get award travel to Europe).
Again, hope it is okay to post this type question, and thank you in advance for reading my rather long vacation narrative!!
Jeff
@JeffCD, welcome! I'm just another commenter, but I think you're in the right place and that this is an awesome idea.
Hawaii, Europe, and the East Coast US for fall foliage are generally great destinations, depending on your interests. If you've been before, you likely already know this. If it's a first-time, you're in for a real treat!
You're also very fortunate to be based near SFO, where you have ample options for nonstops to most places. And since fall foliage is already starting this year (I'm based in NYC), good of you to plan ahead for next year.
That said, I hear Hawaii is getting a lot of hurricanes lately (thanks to El Niño), and for Europe, demand is high during specific periods (fall should be a shoulder season), so that may affect award availability if you're looking for affordable business class deals.
Personally, it's been over 10 years since I've been to Maui, and I feel like I'm overdue for a return as well; was last in London, Paris, and Amsterdam over the holidays the prior December. It was chilly, but still a fun time.
On the intra-Europe flights, I did specifically enjoy flying between AMS–LCY (London City Airport) on KLM (British Airways operates it too) for the unique airport experience, as opposed to routing via LHR for everything, so you may want to consider that in your planning.
On the return to the East Coast, flying non-stop from Germany into Boston (BOS) or New York (JFK/EWR) sets you up perfectly for a scenic fall foliage road trip through New England or Upstate New York. For Star Alliance, specifically, you may find some decent LH options, hopefully in either a new Allegris cabin, or if you're more of an av geek, upstairs in one of their older 747s.
On points and cards, you've already got a great stash (~270k United, ~140k Alaska), and a good mindset for spending towards sign-up bonuses on one trip to pay for the next one.
First, I would consider eligibility and likelihood of application success (for instance, Capital One and Chase can be notoriously challenging, between C1's no-new-cards-in-6-months rule and Chase's 5/24). Personally, I've struggled to get approved by C1 because they likely see my credit history of app-a-ramas as peak-churner behavior (it is), so if you really want their card(s), you'd probably have to cool down for like 12–24 months to even get their prequalified tool for Venture X to show me the green light. If not prequalified, I wouldn't waste 3 hard-pulls on a failed app with C1. But, if C1 does seem to work, I'd prioritize C1VX (even at the 75K bonus). Then, I'd consider Chase products (like Chase Sapphire Reserve, or United cards depending on their bonuses).
Of course, using Ben's links helps him/the site; though, if you have a partner (P2) who already has any of these products, you may want to use their referral fees, or seek out the best targeted or publicly available offer.
Regarding Chase United products, having one of their co-branded cards is helpful because it unlocks expanded Saver award availability (XN/IN fare classes). While United uses dynamic pricing, accessing those extra Saver seats makes finding business class in Polaris at standard Saver rates (think 60k–80k+ miles one-way) much easier compared to non-cardholder rates.
Finally, as you mentioned Bank of America's Atmos™ Summit Card, I have it, and it's a fantastic product, especially given your SFO base and Alaska balance! Between the sign-up bonus, the 25K Global Companion Award (if you travel with companions), the opportunity to earn the 100K Global Companion Award (with $60K spend in a cardmember year), ability to earn 3x on housing via Bilt (though with a 3% fee), 3x points on all foreign transactions (a huge perk while traveling in Europe), 8 Alaska Lounge passes (2 per quarter), and the BofA relationship bonus (10% extra points), it packs a ton of value. I think the 25K Global Companion Award and 10K status points at anniversary make it a keeper card long-term.
Perhaps, for an overall strategy, you may even want to open multiple cards; again, assess your risk tolerance, don't take on debt you don't need to pull this off, etc. (I'm just an internet stranger; seek actual financial advice from a reputable source, etc.)
Anyway, sorry to vomit my initial thoughts on you. Hope this helps.
There used to be fairly decent award availability from Germany to Boston in business during summer/fall about 1-2 weeks before departure, with 2 daily flights from Frankfurt and 1 from Munich (on A380). They switch to a single flight from Frankfurt for the winter, in late October, so most likely you would be flying on their summer/fall schedule. There is also a flight from Vienna and 2 from Zurich. So a total of 6 daily flights to Boston on Lufthansa group that can be booked via United. Don't know which class of service are you planning to book, but keep in mind that flights from Europe to Boston are much shorter than to SFO, and at least for me economy on an A380 is perfectly fine for that kind of flight. I just did a dummy search on United app, there are business class awards to Boston from Frankfurt, Munich, and Vienna next week for 80k miles each on Lufthansa/Austrian. There are also business class awards available to JFK and Newark. If you don't find anything in advance, you can book economy and check availability again closer to departure. Also, transatlantic departures from LHR have ridiculous fees/taxes on award tickets, especially in business class, so I would definitely fly to the UK and return from Germany or Austria.
For fall foliage, New Hampshire is gorgeous for basically the whole month of October. Starting from way north in Dixville Notch (short hike to the Table Rock for great views) the first week of October, then the White Mountains, then Sunapee and Lakes regions. Whatever you do, avoid the Kancamagus Highway (NH-112 between Lincoln and Conway) on Columbus Day weekend - in good weather it turns into a parking lot. Go there on a weekday. Start from Lincoln, cut through the Bear Notch Road to US-302 and Crawford Notch. Another short hike to a rock outcropping with great views is Mt. Willard in Crawford Notch, just a few miles south of the Mount Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods. A bunch of cute small towns like Lancaster and Littleton north of the White Mountains, with breweries/pubs on river banks. Plus Hanover with its Ivy League campus.
The weekend after Columbus Day is the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston - quite a spectacle that can be viewed from the banks of the Charles river or from one of the bridges. The airside B-to-C connector at Logan is completely devoted to that event - river on the floor, boats on the ceiling, all kinds of into on the walls.
As an additional detail, if you use Alaska miles to LHR in business, flights on British Airways cost 70k miles + $1000, while flights on American (with one connection) are 70k miles + $26. As of today, I see AA flights via LAX available in August but not in September. Between London and Amsterdam you can either fly or take a 4-hour Eurostar train. The ride is longer, but you are going city center to city center.