Questions and Answers

Hi Lucky,
I love getting your daily news. Thanks. Congrats on being on CNN.
I am an airline nut too. I love being in them, looking at them, airports and lounges and such. I travel a bit for my business but feel I can do better with my points and such. This year I have earned about 110K MQMs on Delta with flights to Asia a couple of times, Brazil and several within the US. I also went to Rome (X2) and Brazil ( a second time) with award tickets on economy. I have the Delta Skymiles American Express ( with a free companion ticket per year) and spend a few thousands on it on bills and purchasing tickets. So, I try to fly as much as I can on Delta and partners so that I can accumulate as much as possible within one calendar year. Worse now since it is value of ticket over miles flown.
Please, let me know if you have any suggestions on how I can get more miles. Some of the credit cards you have listed I cannot have because I could not meet the $5000 expenses in the first three months.
This year I will make Platinum on Delta since I noticed I was going to be $350 short on the cash portion and so payed for the upgrade to first class on my last trip ( I am currently on it) so that I would make it platinum. I think it was worth the extra $465 for the trip.
Looking forward to what you have to say.
Cheers and many thanks!!!!!
Antonio.
PS. I also would like to fly more business class when going abroad. I have avoided it because I save to get economy class tickets on award for vacations with my wife and kids. So using points for my indulgence in Business class would dent the family trips. But maybe you have a solution for that. Maybe?

Welcome, Antonio.

As you’ve noticed, Delta’s pretty good when it comes to flying, but pretty lousy when it comes to value with their frequent flyer program. When they won’t even publish an award chart you know something’s up!

If you’re concerned about not being able to meet minimum spend on the credit cards, check out Frequent Miler and the forum section of Travel Codex (both fellow Boarding Area bloggers). Those blogs deal with manufactured spend – a process where you buy products (often Visa gift cards) that can quickly be turned into cash and used to pay off your credit card bill. Some people earn thousands of miles each month this way. Just start slowly until you’re comfortable with how things work.

Regarding flying business class overseas – you’re right that it takes a lot more miles and not all flights will offer any award seats in premium cabins (though most will) but even then it’s often only 2 seats in business class. Depending on how large your family is and how willing you are to split up on different flights, this may or may not be something you want to do. Boarding Area bloggers Mommy Points and Pizza In Motion often write about family travel and have tips on getting multiple premium award seats, so you may want to check them out.

You don’t say where you’re based. If it’s at a Delta hub they may still be your best choice but I would love for some others to chime in on the best options for crediting your flights.