United Airlines, I hate you deeply.

[Swirls]

Didn't know the premium ones wouldn't waive the fee the first year. Still, like you mention, it's worth noting that credit card companies love these introductory promos/bonuses because people 1. sign up for the card 2. don't qualify for the bonus and/or 3. get into a position where they can't pay their balance then 4. keep the card for a long time and 5. pay the annual fee every year on top of interest.

But, smart consumers can totally flip this in their favor* by signing up for the card, meet the requirements for the bonus, collect the bonus and cancel the card. After doing this for a year or more, it's tougher to find the introductory bonuses as easily. But, even then, there are cards that just make a ton of sense to use everyday. American Express has a card that pays 6% cash back on groceries and supermarket purchases, 3% on gas and restaurants, and 1% on everything else. It has an annual fee of $75 and comes with an instant credit of $150 (so 2 years free). Add it all up and it's a free $500-$1k/year. On top of that, it delays payments so you're paying for stuff a month or more after you apy for it and if there's a discrepancy it never affects your bank account....whereas with a debit card it's an instant deduction that can be refunded but you're out the cash during the dispute process in many cases.

*which is why websites like nerdwallet.com and thepointsguy.com exist in the first place.

Exactly. My wife has that Amex card (the Blue Cash Preferred).

Another thing to consider on "premium" travel credit cards is trip accident/cancellation/insurance. The two premium cards I carry are the Amex Platinum (automatic Hilton HHonors Gold, automatic Starwood/Mariott Gold, automatic National Emerald Club Executive, and some others) and the Citi Prestige. Both carry rental car insurance so I don't have to pay for that when I get a car. The Citi card has lost baggage/trip cancellation/delay insurance, which is awesome. If my flight is delayed by more than 4 hours I am reimbursed up to like $500/person. I don't have to wait for the airline to find me a hotel/meal vouchers (which they WILL NOT do if the delay is due to weather, as it is not their fault) - I can book one myself wherever I am and they will pay for it. If the airline loses my luggage or if it's lost/stolen, they will pay a few grand for replacement stuff.

All of the premium cards these days carry accident/emergency AD&D insurance also. I think the Amex Platinum has $100,000 in accident insurance in case you are in a severe accident while traveling.

I have a Delta Amex Platinum, which carries a $195 fee. Sure it gets double miles on Delta purchases (which I don't use it for because I get 5x Amex points when buying airfare on my Amex Plat), but it gets me priority boarding and a free checked bag (I don't spend enough on airfare to get elite status, unfortunately). The big kicker is it comes with a free roundtrip ticket anywhere in the continental US every year. Mrs. Swirls and I travel both to Missouri and New York every year during the holidays as well as a few other times throughout the year. So that free companion ticket every year is more than worth the annual fee. Plus free bags and priority boarding and discounted booze on flights. Win win.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Dang swirls how much traveling do you do?

[Swirls]

Dang swirls how much traveling do you do?

Not as much as I would like. Half-dozen flights per year maybe. Unfortunately not enough to hit even low level Delta Silver Medallion status. That's why the Delta cards are nice - they mimic all of the benefits of elite status (except priority check-in).

In April we did a trip to Vegas to see Mrs. Swirls' sister and the inaugural Guns N Roses reunion show. Airfare and hotel was booked entirely on points/miles.

In May we flew to Cleveland for a friend's wedding. Airfare booked on miles.

In June Mrs. Swirls flew to Syracuse to surprise her mom after she retired. Airfare booked on miles.

In July we flew to Syracuse again for Mrs. Swirls' 10 year high school reunion. Airfare booked on miles, rental care was paid out of pocket.

In October we flew to Cleveland for another friend's wedding, that one was paid out of pocket.

Next week we're flying to Syracuse for Christmas, which was paid out of pocket.

The airfare paid on miles this year all came from the signup bonuses from our Delta credit cards. We both signed up for the same offer, which was enough for each of us to have two roundtrip tickets anywhere in the continental US. I still have 100k+ Amex Membership Rewards points that I can transfer to Delta in a pinch if I need to, but I'm saving them for something more aspirational next year (looking at flying on a Delta codeshare partner flight to either Aruba or Hawaii in first class, which a couple of the sweet spots in their award redemption chart - Air France/KLM for Aruba and Korean Air for Hawaii).

We've taken a bunch of other trips besides those above to various parts of the Midwest, but we drove for those.

[Swirls]

Oh, I forgot to mention, one of the best possible things you can do for international travel is get signed up for Global Entry. It's $100/year but it's good for five years.

It's like TSA PreCheck, but it actually goes farther than that (in fact, Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck as part of the program). When you enter back into the US from another country, you basically completely bypass waiting in line at US customs. You go through the "airline flight crew" part of the airport, scan your fingerprints and your passport, and you're on your way.

It takes like 2 minutes to get through customs instead of much much longer (last October we spent almost 2 hours at customs when we came back from Barbados) It's literally worth it if you just use it once. Even if you don't plan on traveling internationally within the next five years, it's only $15 more than TSA PreCheck, so on the off chance you may go sometime in the future, you'll already have access. You also get access to special fast lanes when you're driving to Canada or Mexico.

Along the same lines of those premium credit cards referenced above. They all include waivers for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck. So you sign up for them, your card is charged, and then immediately refunded. So you get the $100 credit for free.

Again, don't be scared by the $450 fee. You can gets thousands and thousands of dollars of value out of those cards just in the perks/benefits.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Southwest made the mistake of offering free companion travel for a year as a promotional incentive (with the req being something minimal like 3k in 3 months) and got killed on it.

[Swirls]

Southwest made the mistake of offering free companion travel for a year as a promotional incentive (with the req being something minimal like 3k in 3 months) and got killed on it.

They still offer the Companion Pass - it's their highest level of elite status (above A-List Preferred). It takes 110k miles to get it, but it allows you to have free companion travel for the rest of the current year you get it, as well as the entire following year. There are creative ways of doing it such that you acquire the pass in January and then essentially have a BOGO on airfare for almost two full years.

Southwest has a decent-sized mini-hub here at MSP, but I'm just not a fan of them in general. They used to be significantly cheaper than the "Big 3" legacy carriers, but now they're just as expensive. The big bonus to flying Southwest is that you still get free checked bags and you don't have rebooking fees if you need to change your ticket to fly a different day. Provided you're fine with the whole "packed in like sardines" model they use (which is why I don't really fly them).

[Tim]

Southwest made the mistake of offering free companion travel for a year as a promotional incentive (with the req being something minimal like 3k in 3 months) and got killed on it.

That is why we fly Southwest.

[Radbird]

Oh, I forgot to mention, one of the best possible things you can do for international travel is get signed up for Global Entry. It's $100/year but it's good for five years.

It's like TSA PreCheck, but it actually goes farther than that (in fact, Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck as part of the program). When you enter back into the US from another country, you basically completely bypass waiting in line at US customs. You go through the "airline flight crew" part of the airport, scan your fingerprints and your passport, and you're on your way.

It takes like 2 minutes to get through customs instead of much much longer (last October we spent almost 2 hours at customs when we came back from Barbados) It's literally worth it if you just use it once. Even if you don't plan on traveling internationally within the next five years, it's only $15 more than TSA PreCheck, so on the off chance you may go sometime in the future, you'll already have access. You also get access to special fast lanes when you're driving to Canada or Mexico.

Along the same lines of those premium credit cards referenced above. They all include waivers for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck. So you sign up for them, your card is charged, and then immediately refunded. So you get the $100 credit for free.

Again, don't be scared by the $450 fee. You can gets thousands and thousands of dollars of value out of those cards just in the perks/benefits.

We are in the process of getting Global Entry now. You have to be interviewed and the first available slots are in May.

[Swirls]

Yeah, the "interview" thing is the worst part because availability is so hit or miss. We got it when we lived in South Carolina - Charlotte was booked out for like 4 months, but Atlanta's was wide open. We drove 4 hours to the Atlanta center.

It takes all of about 5 minutes for the interview - they basically ask you your name, get a copy of your driver's license, and then take your fingerprints.

Other options to consider are if you have other travel scheduled to maybe do it at another location while you're traveling. Like maybe in Boston or NYC or something. Otherwise you may have to wait until May.

[tlombard]

I flew out to Boston last week on United for work and I have no complaints. I had a connection through Dulles and on the flight there I had an entire row to myself (the plane was pretty packed too) and then on the leg from Dulles to Logan I had an aisle seat in an exit row with an open middle seat. It was a pretty comfortable trip.

So of course on the way back I was on American (had to pick flights around the work schedule) and had a middle seat on packed planes both legs. At least on the Logan-O'Hare leg I was between two attractive asian girls. But from O'Hare to Lambert I was between two dudes. But hey, at least they provide free movies via their wi-fi. Sadly I realized that too late since I wasn't paying attention to the pre-flight stuff and started CIA too late on the first leg. I picked it back up on the second leg but they cut off the wi-fi when you drop below 10,000 feet. I just needed ten more freaking minutes. Still no idea exactly how the movie ends.

Oh, as a bonus tip for anybody who may be a smoker (I have yet to kick the nasty habit) there is a smoking lounge in Dulles. After having to scramble and re-book due to flight delays (was originally on American) that was a very welcome discovery. I was already stressed out about not getting into Boston until 11:30 PM and still having an hour trip to the hotel and having meetings starting at 8 the next morning.