Update: DEAD! Don’t miss it if this becomes alive again. Sign up for deal notification alerts here!
For a limited time only, the Chase Ink Plus card is offering an unprecedented 70,000 point signup bonus online to the public.
If you have questions about the Ink Plus card you’ll probably find the answer in this post, so read it first!
The card earns between 1 to 5 points per dollar, so once you complete the $5,000 of required spending you’ll have between 75K and 95K points.
What can you do with that amount of points?
Hopefully you know they are most valuable when transferred to airline and hotel programs like United, British Airways, Korean, Southwest, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, and Amtrak. Chase points transfer to those programs at a 1:1 ratio.
You can redeem them directly for travel without transferring them to a mileage program, but that value will fall between just 1-1.25 cents per point. You can do so much better transferring them to a miles program.
And sure you probably know that you can burn 75K United miles for 3 domestic coach tickets. But what’s the fun in that?
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I’m still not sure how it’s possible, but late next month I’ll turn 30 (and I’ll have been blogging here for an mind-boggling 10 years, go ahead and scroll through the site archives drop-down menu in the sidebar to see for yourself). So I’ve compiled 30 great uses of your Ultimate Rewards points and present them to you in no particular order whatsoever:
1. Korean miles: Fly round-trip to Alaska for 20K miles and Hawaii for 25K miles.
You would have enough miles for 3 round-trips tickets to Hawaii in coach or 2 round-trips in first class.
Korean charges just 25,000 to fly Delta coach and 45,000 miles to fly Delta first class round-trip within “Mexico, United States (including Hawaii), US Virgin Islands, Canada, and Puerto Rico.”
Of course you’ll have to find Delta saver award space, so search for that on Delta.com by searching for an award, opening the award calendar, and looking for dates in green. Then call Korean to book and you can instantly transfer the points from Chase to Korean while you’re on the phone with them.
Can’t find Delta availability?
You can also fly round-trip to Hawaii on Alaska or Hawaiian for just 30K Korean miles in coach or 60K Korean miles in first class. Hawaiian even flies nonstop from JFK to Honolulu.
Additionally you can fly round-trip on Alaska anywhere in the US or Canada, including Alaska, for just 20K Korean miles in coach or 40K Korean miles in first class. You’re even allowed one free stopover when flying Alaska with Korean miles!
None of these flights have any fuel surcharges.
2. British Airways Avios: Up to 21 free short-haul one-way flights.
You would have more than enough for 21 free short-haul one-way flights using British Airways Avios. Those flights cost just 4.5K Avios each.
Avios have actually gotten more valuable since USAirways joined OneWorld as you can use them on all American and USAirways flights within the Western Hemisphere without any fuel surcharges. Flights on Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Alaska, LAN, and TAM also have no fuel surcharges.
You can click here for all of the possible nonstop Avios flights you can take from Baltimore/DC, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, NYC, and Philadelphia.
A flight to the Caribbean can be had in coach for as little as 4,500 Avios, or in first class with 3 free checked bags for 9,000 Avios, that’s hard to beat!
Best of all? No close-in ticketing fees and it’s only $5.60 to cancel a flight and get back the miles as long as you cancel 24 hours in advance of the flight.
3. Singapore: Fly round-trip on United in a lie-flat business class bed from JFK to Los Angeles or San Francisco for 40K miles.
The 50K miles that United charges for this route is a pretty good deal. But Singapore will book you on the same flight for just 40K miles.
Plus Singapore has no close-in booking fees, no phone booking fees, and they charge just $20 for a change and just $30 to cancel and redeposit your miles!
There are no fuel surcharges for using Singapore miles for United flights.
4. Korean: 80K to fly one-way in Korean First Class Suites from Tel Aviv or the USA to or from Asia.
A Korean First Class Kosmo Sleeper Class Suite between North America and Asia or between Tel Aviv and Asia is just 80,000 miles one-way.
Korean has the best first class award availability in the industry. They serve delicious Hermolis kosher meals out of Asia and have a open self-service bar with top-shelf drinks.
You can read my trip report on flying Korean here.
The fuel surcharge from the USA to South Korea is $150 each way. From Israel to South Korea it’s $190 each way.
5. Singapore: 57K to fly one-way in Singapore first class suites from JFK to Europe.
You can fly in Singapore suites class from JFK to Frankfurt for just 57,375 miles one-way with the 15% online booking discount that is applied after selecting a flight. This is truly an aspirational award and Singapore service is second to none. You’ll even have access to the Virgin Clubhouse in JFK with good kosher meals as well.
A $211 fuel surcharge applies.
You can read my trip report on flying Singapore to Paris here.
There are single and double suites available. This is the double:
6. Singapore: 74K to fly Singapore first class suites from LAX to Tokyo:
The fuel surcharge makes up $160 of the fees.
LAX-Tokyo-Singapore would be 91,375 miles.
You can find other rates for Singapore first class in this post.
7. Korean: 60K miles round-trip from the USA to Tahiti on Air France
Air France flies nonstop from Los Angeles to Tahihi. You can fly it round-trip for just 60K Korean miles in coach or 90K in business and then explore the beautiful islands of Moorea and Bora Bora from your own private overwater bungalow which can be had for just 50K IHG points per night. Sure, IHG points can be had from Chase, but you can get those for pretty cheap via this hack or wait for another sale like this one.
S. Regis Bora Bora.
8. British Airways Avios: 25K round-trip from the west coast to Hawaii.
You can fly from the west coast nonstop to Hawaii on AA, Alaska, or USAirways for just 25K Avios round-trip.
From Phoenix you can even use cash and points, it’s just 8,000 Avios plus $201 round-trip to any Hawaiian island!
Alaska flights must be booked over the phone.
There are no fuel surcharges.
9. British Airways Avios: 25K round-trip from Boston to Ireland on Aer Lingus.
You can fly nonstop on Aer Lingus from Boston to Dublin or Shannon for just 25K Avios round-trip. Best of all there are no fuel surcharges on Aer Lingus. Plus you can fly to Boston from cities like Buffalo, NYC, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or Washington DC for just 9K Avios.
Aer Lingus flights must be booked over the phone.
10. British Airways Avios: 60K round-trip JFK to Tel Aviv on Air Berlin.
60K round-trip plus $91 in fees. There are no fuel surcharges. Or use cash and points with as little as 20K Avios.
You can even make it work for Pesach:
11. Hyatt points+cash awards.
The Hyatt award chart is great for high-end hotels. It caps out at 30K points for real gems like the Park Hyatt Sydney, the Park Hyatt Paris, and the Park Hyatt Zurich that can go for $1,500 per night. Other hotel chains charge double, triple, or quadruple that amount of points for their high-end properties and they’re not nearly as good as the Park Hyatt chain.
Park Hyatt Sydney
A real sweet spot for Hyatt points are cash and points for category 6 hotels. These include real gems like the Park Hyatt Maldives, Grand Hyatt Kauai, the Andaz Maui, the Hyatt Carmel Highlands, and the Andaz 5th Avenue.
Andaz Maui
The Park Hyatt Maldives can also go for $1,500 per night but it’s just 25K points or you can stretch your points even farther by using just 12,500 points plus $150 per night. Best of all it’s considered a paid stay, so you qualify for promotions and can use suite upgrade certificates.
You can only book points+cash awards over the phone.
There are also incredible uses for lower categories.
Category 3 hotels include the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach Honolulu, the Hyatt Place LaGuardia, the Grand Hyatt Sao Paulo, the Hyatt Palm Springs, CA.
You can stay in a category 4 property for just 15K points or 7.5K points+$100 in hotels like the Andaz Papagayo Resort in Costa Rica, the Park Hyatt Toronto, the Hyatt Regency Kowloon, Hong Kong, the Park Hyatt Seoul, the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile, or the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar opening next June in Nassau, Bahamas.
Rendering of Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas.
Category 5 hotels include the Andaz West Hollywood in LA, the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort an hour south of LA, the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort just north of San Diego, the Hyatt Regency Maui, the Hyatt Place NYC, and 2 of my favorite Hyatt hotels, the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, and the Park Hyatt Melbourne.
Park Hyatt Buenos Aires
12. United: 40K miles to fly one-way in Thai first class from Bangkok to Sydney
Want to get to the Park Hyatt Sydney and see the opera house from your bed?
When Mimi and I flew around the world in 2010 we started off in incredible Thailand and flew down under to tour Australia for a few weeks.
It’s just 40K miles for a 10 hour flight in Thai first class from Thailand to Australia. You’ll even get an hour long massage for free in the Bangkok first class lounge.
There are no fuel surcharges.
13. Korean: 75K miles to fly round-trip from Australia to New Zealand in an Emirates First Class A380…with a shower spa onboard.
While you’re down under, hop from Australia to New Zealand in gilded style on Emirates and brag about taking a shower 39,000 feet in the air:
Or take the ice bucket challenge onboard?
An A380 flight from the US to Dubai would run 210K Korean miles. There are cheaper ways of doing that with miles from Alaska or JAL, though Chase doesn’t transfer to those currencies.
14. British Airways Avios: 10K each way from Tel Aviv to Vienna, Berlin, Dusseldorf, or Munich.
You can fly round-trip nonstop between those cities for just 20K Avios plus $68-80 tax. There are no fuel surcharges.
Or use cash and points from 8,000 Avios plus $228.
15. Southwest points for anything.
There are no aspirational awards with Southwest, but you will get a value of about 1.7 cents per point towards award travel.
Plus you get 2 free checked bags, free flight changes or flight cancellations. and you can even get a point refund if the price of your flight goes down. There are no fuel surcharges.
This flight from Akron, OH (~40 minutes from Cleveland) to NYC is just 7,162 miles round-trip. And it can be cancelled at any time with no penalty!
If you earn 110,000 Southwest points in a calendar year you also get a free companion pass to bring someone with you for free for the remainder of the year and the following year as well which doubles the value of your points. While transfers from Chase don’t count for companion pass, transfers from Hyatt do.
It takes 50K Hyatt points to get 30K Southwest points.
Points earned from the Southwest credit cards also count towards the 110K requirement.
16. Virgin Atlantic: 5,000 miles from Tel Aviv to Cyprus round-trip.
Virgin isn’t part of an alliance, but they do have nice rates on partners like Delta. Plus they charge just 5,000 miles from Tel Aviv to Cyprus on Cyprus Air.
17. Virgin Atlantic: Fly round-trip from USA to South America for 45K miles in coach or 90K miles in business class.
Virgin will book you on Delta to South America for much less than Delta charges their own members. Of course you’ll first have to find Delta saver class availability as described above, but once you do you can go to fantastic Buenos Aires or breathtaking Iguazu Falls, Macchu Picchu, or Rio de Janeiro on the cheap.
There are no fuel surcharges.
18. Singapore: Fly round-trip on United between the US48 and Alaska for 25K miles in coach or 40K in business class.
United charges 35K miles to get to stunning Alaska in coach and 60K in business. Transfer miles to Singapore and they’ll book those same flights for just 25K or 40K.
There are no fuel surcharges.
Never thought of going to Alaska? Read Something Fishy’s epic trip report with his trademark stunning pictures and you’ll want to start planning a trip.
Photo credit, Something Fishy, Trip Report part 2.
19. Singapore: Fly round-trip on United between the US49 and Hawaii for 35K miles in coach or 60K in business class.
United charges 45K miles to get to the paradise also known as Hawaii in coach and 80K in business. Transfer miles to Singapore and they’ll book those same flights for just 35K or 60K.
There are no fuel surcharges.
Need some inspiration for a Hawaii trip? This should keep you busy for a while:
DansMeals: Hawaii For The Kosher Traveler:
–Part 1: General Info And The Island Of Oahu
-Part 2: The Big Island of Hawaii
–Part 3: Maui
–Part 4: Kauai
Trip reports:
–Trip Notes Kauai: Heaven On Earth (2014)
–Trip Notes: Maui No Ka ‘Oi (2014)
-Hawaii Trip Notes: Oahu (2009)
–Hawaii Trip Notes: Kauai (2009)
–The Hawaiian Islands (2011)
–Traveling To Hawaii…With A 5 Month Old (2011)
DDF forum threads:
–Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
–Big Island Of Hawaii Master Thread
-Kauai Master Thread
–Maui Master Thread
-Oahu Master Thread
20. Singapore: Fly round-trip on United between the US and Israel for 75K miles in coach or 115K in business class.
Singapore charges fuel surcharges on most airlines, but not on United. That means you can save 10K miles in coach or 25K miles in business by booking a United ticket to Israel with Singapore miles.
Note that if you want to travel on other airlines you may do better transferring to United, where fuel surcharges are never collected.
21. Marriott: Stay in the Ritz-Carlton Herzliya or the Renaissance Tel Aviv.
The Ritz-Carlton Herzliya is a luxury hotel that opened 10 months ago and has been getting rave reviews. It is a Ritz-Carlton tier 2 hotel which means that it’s 40,000 points per night or 160,000 points for a 5 night stay (32,000 points per night).
The Renaissance Tel Aviv Hotel is a Marriott category 7 hotel that goes for 35,000 points per night or 140,000 points for a 5 night stay (28,000 points per night.)
22. United 10K short-haul awards.
United’s short-haul flights are well priced at just 10K miles each way. Best of all and unlike with British Airways, you are allowed to connect and exceed 700 miles as long as the origin and destination cities are within 700.
There are no fuel surcharges.
And if you’ve been to a DansDeals Seminar you know how to have all kinds of fun with that award!
23. Amtrak: Ride a scenic train for just 1,500 points in coach and 2,000 points in business.
Take a ride on select routes like Chicago-Detroit, Los Angeles-San Diego, Chicago-Milwaukee, Chicago-S. Louis, Portland, OR-Vancouver, BC, and Kansas City-S. Louis
24. Amtrak: Ride within the Northeast Corridor for just 4,000 points in coach and 8,000 points in Acela Express business.
Ride within the northeast (including Boston, NYC, Niagara Falls, Montreal, and Washington DC) for just 4,000 points in coach, 6,500 points in business class, 8,000 points in Acela Express business class, or 12,000 points in Acela Express first class.
On some routes that offers an incredible value for your points.
25. Amtrak: A private bedroom and bathroom with kosher meals for 12,500 points per adult.
Amtrak splits the country up into 3 zones. Cities that straddle a zone, like Atlanta, Denver, and Detroit, can count as whichever zone will be cheaper.
Here is the Amtrak award chart.
A coach ticket within one zone, say from NYC to Miami, is 5,500 points. Business is 6,500, a roomette is 15,000, and a bedroom is 25,000 points.
The bedroom rate is valid for 2 adults, so the effective price is 12,500 points per adult. There is a private bathroom and shower in the bedroom.
You can add a child age 2-12 into the bedroom for the cost of a coach ticket, or 5,500 more points.
Meals for all passengers, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, are included. You can even request complimentary kosher meals! Bedrooms have climate control, fresh towels and linens, bottled water, etc.
Want to go farther?
Take a 2 zone award (say NYC to Chicago) and the rate is 40,000 points for a bedroom (20K per adult). Add a child for the cost of a coach 3 zone award of 8,000 points.
Take a 3 zone award (Say NYC to Seattle) and the rate is 60,000 points for a bedroom (30K per adult). Add a child for the cost of a coach 3 zone award of 10,500 points.
Of course you can take a train from NYC to Miami or LA one-way in a bedroom, check that off your bucket list, and then just fly home one-way with British Airways or United miles.
Need more space? Redeem for 2 bedrooms and 2 adjoining bedrooms can be opened up into a suite.
Learn more about Amtrak Bedrooms here.
On to some more obscure stuff…
26. United: NYC to Israel and the Far East and back for 70K miles in coach or 110K in business.
Let’s keep this one on the down-low, shall we?
United allows for a free stopover.
Perhaps you noticed on the interactive award chart that it costs just 70K United miles to fly between the US and Japan?
But did you know that you can stopover in Tel Aviv on the way to Japan and just pay the 70K mileage rate for a ticket to Japan instead of the 85K mileage rate for a ticket between the USA and Tel Aviv.
Just use the Multiple destination award search to piece together awards like these:
Coach:
Business:
United never collects a fuel surcharge.
27. United: Tel Aviv to NYC to Israel and the Far East for 77.5K miles in coach or 145K in business:
This a one-way United award from Tel Aviv-Newark (42.5K) and a one-way award from Newark-Japan (35K). The fact that you can stop in Tel Aviv for as long as you want? That’s just your free stopover. And nobody is making you go to Japan if you don’t want to go, but the Park Hyatt Tokyo looks like a pretty awesome base for a really neat city and country to explore.
Coach:
Business:
28. United: NYC to Tel Aviv to NYC with a flight to Hawaii several months later:
87.5K in coach:
Or fly back in a lie flat bed from Tel Aviv and in a lie-flat bed to Honolulu as well:
29. United: NYC to Tel Aviv to NYC with a flight to Los Angeles several months later:
85K in coach:
Or fly back in a lie flat bed from Tel Aviv and in a lie-flat bed to LA as well:
30. United: NYC to Honolulu to NYC with a flight to Miami several months later:
45K in coach:
80K in lie-flat business class:
Of course there are hundreds of other awesome redemptions out there. What’s your favorite?
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Other Chase cards you can apply for at the same time include the Chase British Airways (50K signup points, 1.25 Avios per dollar, and an annual companion award ticket if you spend $30K+ in a year), and the Chase United Explorer (30K signup points plus another 5K points for adding a free additional user, and it gives free luggage, free primary car rental insurance including in the US and Israel, expanded saver and standard award ticket availability, priority boarding, and more), the Chase Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card® Card (40K signup points plus another 5K points for adding a free additional user, no fee the first year, free primary car rental insurance including in the US and Israel, plus 2-2.14 points per dollar on travel and dining with no Foreign Exchange fees), the Chase Marriott (with 50K signup points plus a free night upon signup and a free night every subsequent year upon renewal), the Chase Freedom (which has no annual fee, gives 5 points per dollar in rotating categories, and 10% bonus points through 2015 if you have a Chase checking account), and the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (which also has no annual fee and gives 5 points per dollar on telecom/office supplies and 2 points per dollar on dining and gas)
Leave a Reply
104 Comments On "30 Awesome Things You Can You Do With 75K-95K Ultimate Rewards Points"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
Dan,
If I don’t travel, is there any advantage to this card? Can I use the points for cashback/statement credit? Is there some other way to turn these points into cash?
Thanks!
I just sold 80K of my chase points to a broker for $1,200. I know that I’d get more value by traveling, but I don’t have the time 🙁
Great post!!
I like the British Airways award from JFK to Vancouver nonstop on Cathay Pacific.
Hands down the best business and first class within North America and a great value per mile.
@AJ:
I guess Chaim covered the best option there for you.
@Chaim:
Gotta make time, you’ll remember epic trips with loved ones more than you’ll remember never taking time off of work.
@sky121:
Thanks!
@Sam:
Indeed, that is a great flight.
Did it myself with the family a couple years ago for free thanks to opening several hundred BMI accounts and transferring the 1K account signup points to BA 😀
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/24056
Dan, that was an awesome post! Now I really want to plan a trip.
@Dan happy birthday! You should be zoicha to continue to save money and make people happy around the globe! Btw should i apply for two cards at a time or apply now for the ink and when another chase offer comes around apply then?
@lyla:
Just make sure to post a TR on DDF!
@Shmo:
Thanks!
Do you have other Chase cards to leverage if you need to? If you do I’d for sure go for a MBM.
Thanks, Chaim.
Dan, Chaim,
Do you have a broker that you recommend?
Also, I know there are several Ink cards. Which one should I get? Thank you both!
@Dan I applied a month ago for a different chase card how fast can I apply again?
@Dan thanks for replying so fast, boot sure what you mean by leverage or mbm? Still new at this, I do have freedom and Marriott
@AJ:
The exclusive DD advertiser is http://www.sellmilesnow.com.
Very honest fellow.
Only the Ink Plus has a 70K offer right now, http://www.dansdeals.com/go/InkPlus70
@Sam:
There isn’t a time limit.
@Shmo:
Try these on for size:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/23410
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/41582
#16 Virgin stopped their partnership with Cyprus Air on 9/14/14 :-/
@slmyrcb:
Bummer!
Source?
Dan
virgin to South America allows stopover, openjaw? the option United to Japan-EWR, does it work with one way?
Thanks, Dan.
@Dan
I called last week to booked and HUCAed. We’re gonna need some more deals out here in Israel:(
Still looking for the best deal to far east from Israel outside of the soon to end AA
Had a 160,000 HH0NORS points lying around for years – I went to Israel this summer during the war:
I booked friday a AA elal business class ticket to go 3 days later on sunday & then I used the 160k Hilton for 2 nights at the new Waldorf – absolutely beautiful hotel – the service was extraordinary & the breakfast is totally awesome!
What’s the easiest way to meet the spending threshold on the ink (and british airways
If I do both 2BM)?
@Dan so I read he two links and they’re terrific very well written but I still don’t Wich his better, to wait for a good offer or just do a MBM?
@slmyrcb regarding Cyprus Air
I’m pretty sure that’s not true. In fact, just last week I used some Virgin Atlantic points to book a Cyprus Air flight.
How does #28 work? 80+k miles and that includes that free trip to hawaii?!
@Dan
What’s the best option to get to South Africa using UR?
Thanks
1-The list would be clearer if the rt vs ow was kept consistent; or at least clearly stated in the title of each choice.
2-it would help if fuel surcharges vs no fuel surcharges would be clearly delineated.
Dan great suggestions/ideas
where/how do you book korean air or singapore air using chase points
can it be done online? or do you need to call??
@Eitzah it will also help if you’ll give a complement once in while not just complain btw Dan doesn’t owe you anything be happy what he doe’s do!!
Technique for extended layovers on United short-haul?
What a way to start the new year! How did you know this is just the kind of list I was looking for!!!–AWESOME
I’ll try HUCAing again then (redundant, but not really).
I was really looking to do a quick cheap short vacation to Cyprus.
Dan thank you so much for all your wonderful posts.
I am planning to get my first credit card. Do you have any recommendations?
I do average amount of shopping and I don’t mind getting miles and or rewards
Thanks so much
Dan
Side question
What is a good card with no annual fee to get points for Israel?
I have chase freedom. Is that the best one?
I got hass but they don’t give points for EL Al any longer.
Look forward to your wise remarks.
Thank you
Chaim – who was the broker?
Virgin Atlantic NYC-LON in Y for 35k RT. And every other day they have sales where it comes out just about 28k RT! In peak seasons when direct flights go for $1400+ this is a real bargain. Availability is great as well.
The cheapest way to fly on Tel Aviv-Europe is with Singapore miles. 35K RT in coach and 50K RT in business.
The same route using UA miles would be 50K or 90K RT!!!
@pizza:
Not sure offhand about Virgin.
United would need to be round-trip to get a stopover.
@slmyrcb:
Fly on Royal Jordanian 🙂
@Amy:
Gift cards?
@Shmo:
I never wait when there’s a good offer to be had now.
Can always apply for the next good offer as well.
@@slmyrcb:
Thanks for sharing!
@melech:
Just use the multiple destination search link.
@DaBomb:
I’m not sure offhand, but United is always a safe bet due to lack of fuel surcharges.
@Eitzah:
I’ve updated most of them.
@LongTimeFollower:
You can book Korean or Singapore on their respective sites with their miles.
Though partner travel would take a phone call.
@joetraveler:
That’s part of it.
@srap:
Great!
@Avi:
On my to-do list for an upcoming post.
@Leon m:
Also on my to-do list.
But as you can see, this card is excellent for Israel.
@ilherman:
Some great uses there, thanks!
thanks dan, this is EPIC!
thanks especially for the itineraries that start at TLV, for us here in Israel…quick question, though, any way to actually get a second roundtrip out of it?
For example, i understand i can do TLV-NYC-TLV and make it look like a roundrip from TLV to Tokyo, thus saving some points, but can i double up? Any reason I can’t separately buy a one-way award from Narita to TLV for 35K miles and then get TLV-NYC roundtrip and TLV-TKO roundtip for 105K miles total?
thanks again, as i said this is EPIC!
How long does it take to receive approval? I received the following for applying for both my husband and myself – regular and Incognito. “Thank you for applying. Your application requires further review before making a decision.”
I’ve been _pretty_ happy with my Alaska Visa, but this is tempting. I can’t find what kind of card this is…Master, Visa, AmEx or just Chase’s own. Is there a problem getting merchants to accept it?
Dan, can you explain the flights in ##29 & 30 above – what is the third flight taken some time later, and is it included in the round trip cost?
@Yair:
Thanks!
To double up you could:
Trip 1, 77.5K miles:
Tel Aviv-Newark
Newark-Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Tokyo
Trip 2, 77.5K miles:
Tokyo-Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Newark
Newark-Tel Aviv.
@Waiting approval:
Can take several weeks or you can try calling.
@Charles Kuttner:
Visa.
Accepted worldwide and there’s no foreign exchange fees!
@risa:
You are allowed a free stopover, even at the point of origin.
So essentially you can tack on a flight months after you complete your round-trip without using additional miles!
Hi, Thanks for the post. I know its not the place, but please make such a roundup post of things (useful things) you can do/go with AMEX and SPG points. thanks
One of the most useful posts ever among all blogs that I follow! Thanks Dan and enjoy your upcoming birthday
That was awesome. Thanks. Dan what are your thoughts on the 50% bonus for virgin America points with Amex?
Dan, any way to get another Ink if I just got one 6 months ago?
Best post I have read in a long time. Great way to start off 5775!
Thanks so much! For the suggestions with the free stopover months later, you just get a one way trip back? Also does delta awards also allow a free stopover? Thanks!
Thank you Dan. If I have a Chase Ink Bold, can I still get this card as well?
@samuel:
Number 197 on my to do list 😉
@Skor:
Thanks!
@Tony c:
That’s a targeted bonus.
Either way, not terribly exciting.
@Justin:
If you get approved you’ll get the bonus.
@DL:
Thanks!
@Sg:
Either you can buy a one-way back or you can do another award.
Award one, 85K miles:
Newark-Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Newark
Newark-Anchorage
Award two, 60K miles.
Anchorage-Newark
Newark-London
London-Newark
Or for award 2 just use 17.5K miles for Anchorage-Newark.
Delta also allows a free stopover.
@chaya:
Yes.
Dan, thanks for the post. Seems like sellmilesnow.com does not accept Southwest points. Where would be the best place to sell those?
@ZD:
There’s probably not much of a secondary market for those as they are fixed price awards.
You don’t have the aspirational business or first class aspect that makes miles worth so much.
If you get a Southwest credit card you can redeem them at a penny per mile for gift cards for places like Amazon.com if you never want to use them for Southwest flights.
Thanks Dan, this is awesome. I’ve been following the site for a few years now, but I still learned a few new things. If you could do the same sort of post for mr and spg it would be great.
Do you have a link to a forum discussion re the UA short hall ideas?
Thanks again!
Do you have an idea to get American Airlines over to United for these great Israel trips through Japan….. What can I do with my American Airline miles (besides sell them) to make it work for this kind of trip? With the Japan trip, can you just not continue on to Japan and only go from NY/NJ-Israel and back? Also, does Starwoods transfer to United for these Israel ideas you gave?
great article, it seems like there is never any award over class on long distance Amtrak rides? thoughts?
Dan,
You said the miles required to fly from Singapore to Hawaii cost 35K Krisflyer miles round-trip on United. Did I get you wrong?
Hi Dan,
what’s you take on amtrak I would love to e joy a train ride to miami. Dan have been on amtrak??
Thank you
Thank for the great ideas! Do you mind sharing some opportunities to use points in NYC? I’ve been struggling with making my budget right and I want to find something for cheap, a hotel, a restaurant, something…. Thanks!
Thanks for the post! Dan, Do i need to have a business to apply for this credit card? It asks for the legal name of business. Please advise!
Applied for the IHG the Ink and the Sapphire Pre (3BM). Got approved on all but Sapphire Pre. The rep I called for recon claims I can only apply for 2 at a time so they won’t approve me for the 3rd. Any truth behind that or was I dealing with an incompetent? Worth calling calling calling?
Hi great post.
Question. What’s your take Dan on amtrak? Have you ever done amtrack ? It would be cool to go to miami via train as apposed to flying.
Hey.
how do get back from TYO TLV, (on number 27)
thanks
momo
1) It looks like you need to run a small business to open this card? Is there an option for non-business owners?
2) Can the points from different cards (like the Ink Plus card and the cards you mention at the end) be combined? Can a husband & wife combine open the same card?
Same question, how can you get it if you dont own a business,
Please respond thanks!
Dan do the Miles expire once i close the card, once i get the 75k -95K i would want to cancel ???
whats the best way to use/transfer ultimate rewards points to get from nyc-to paris with little tax and/or fuel surecharges?
@robbie:
Call.
@Kay:
What I wrote is correct.
@avi l:
I hope to try out the bedroom trip one day.
But probably not until the kids are old enough to appreciate it.
@Sophie:
Lots of great hotels options for every budget. A few are in this post.
@MTB:
As I wrote in this post, you should read this post and the comments there, http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/51820
@slmyrcb:
Not true, HUCA.
Also helps if you are willing to shift credit lines around.
@momo:
See comment 40.
Or book a one-way award back.
@Nate:
Read http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/51820
Points can be combined to your spouse.
@Dans the MAN!:
You can transfer the points to a free card or to an airline before closing.
@levi:
Singapore miles on United or United miles on any carrier.
I appreciate very much that you took the time to put this together. Very useful. Kol Hakavod. Thank you!!
@Dan:
When signing up, one needs to certify that “this is a business account and shall only be used for business purposes and not for personal, family or household use.”
It’s a little misleading not to mention this, no?
In example 26 you still have to be in japan to catch flight back to Newark?
In example 27 can you force the search for stopovers in israel only?
@Nate:
1. It’s not enforced at all.
2. In their own guide to benefits it talks about whether things apply for business spending and for non-business spending.
So even they acknowledge there can be non-business spend on the card…
@Anonymous:
Not sure what you’re asking but of course you choose where to stop.
Can I downgrade my ink plus card to the cash card after receiving the bonus to avoid the annual fee?
@Dan i applied for the card but got denied because my “Business ” is too new and makes too Little money etc.i guess i made some mistakes is there any point of reapplying with a different business name?
@Dan:
I dont see what is so great about example 26 you still have to take flight from japan to ny
if someone wants to just effectively to nyc-tlv-nyc this is not for him?
@Anonymous:
@Anonymous:
As I’ve said several times, the place to read about the card and what to do is in this post and the comments there:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/51820
@Anonymous:
No, this is for someone who wants to go to TLV and TYO for less than the cost of TLV.
Dan,
If SIN to HNL is 35K krisflyer RT on UA then HNL to SIN is the same right. Will I be able to do a stopover in NRT for $100?
Thanks!
@Kay:
35K is from the US48-HNL.
Dan,
This is what you said on Point 19.
SIN – HNL = 35k krisflyer miles RT on UA.
The reverse HNL to SIN should be 35k Krisflyer miles RT on UA as well?
And would making a stopover in NRT be possible?
19. Singapore: Fly round-trip on United to Hawaii for 35K miles in coach or 60K in business class.
United charges 45K miles to get to the paradise also known as Hawaii in coach and 80K in business. Transfer miles to Singapore and they’ll book those same flights for just 35K or 60K.
There are no fuel surcharges.
Dan –
I have a ton of respect and hakaras hatov for all that you’ve taught me in the mileage game. I’ve learnt a lot and accumulated tons of miles in the 2 years since I’ve been doing it and gone on plenty of vacations with DW and family. That said, I don’t think it’s right to tout the ability to book Singapore or Korean suites as it’s virtually impossible to book them using straight forward means. Am sure there are some backchannel ways to move from waitlist to confirmed seat, but for the average flyer, its highly unlikely and is borderline mekach taos if people sign up for cards thinking its doable/probable… thoughts?
@Kay:
No. That’s saying use Singapore miles to fly between the US mainland and Hawaii.
@CM:
Complete naarishkeit.
Korean First is available practically every single day
It’s the easiest first class to obtain.
Singapore Suites often has 2 suites open for JFK-FRA. I booked my parents a suite for next month on their ideal travel date and there are still several other dates around then that are wide open.
If you need help finding these things try using an award search tool like KVS or Award Nexus.
Hi Dan Read the link you posted so not sure if an ink plus can be downgraded to the cash, apologies
I am Israeli can i fly on emirates if not going to Dubai or from Dubai ( 3rd world routes)
Maybe a clue?
@Dan do you recommend linking your personal chase with the business chase account?
Dan, this is a great post! will study it for 5775.
Shana Tova, thank you and god bless America!
Hi Dan,
What am I doing wrong?
I pulled Ink, Marriot and BA within seconds of each other on 3 different browsers, but only the Marriot got accepted, and the others came back with a reply that I would be notified within 30 days.
Is there anything I can do for the future?
Thank you,
Shmuli
Hi Dan pls is a simple yes or no question and I read the other post, can an ink card be downgraded, thanks in advance
@shay peleg:
You can even fly to Dubai.
@Joe:
Why not?
@Shmuli:
Call and negotiate.
@Anonymous:
I don’t think it can but you can always cancel a card you don’t want.
Cancelling a business card won’t affect your score at all.
@Dan: OK great thanks but how would I preserve those points
how do you get your luggage of a multi destination flight? what would be the best 2/3BM that won’t pull from experian?
Unfortunately, KE is no longer a transfer partner of Chase (as of today).
I have around 81K points and would like to sell them to a broker for cash. Can anyone recommend companies with best rates? Or should I just call a few and get quotes? Any advice would be helpful!
Or, is it better for me to transfer them to another program for now? (I want to close my Ink business card to avoid the annual fee, but I don’t plan to travel much in the next 2-3 years.) Sorry for multiple posting!
United won’t do this multi anymore
They charge per segment separately
I thought Israeli passports can’t pass via Dubai?
Hey Dan I called Singapore airlines and they said they don’t fly ny to lax ( in regards to the Singapore through United flight mentioned above).
@Nate:
They book you on United, call back.
Dan this is a great post.
Can you please repost an updated version of this
@Dan @MosheD:
I second that.
@Dan I third that! I want to print this but if an updated one is on it’s way that would be amazing!!!
Hey Dan,
Please reissue this column with an update!
We all can use your good thinking in spending our miles.
Is there still a way to manufacture spending?
Is the only option NYC-TLv direct on Chase Ultimate Rewards, United through NewarK? One can also cash out the points and go directly to an airline not through Chase Ultimate Rewards, like directly to El AL, no? Sorry, am very new to this!
@Leah:
You can book directly with Chase Ultimate Rewards on any airline.
If you want to transfer to miles then Singapore (for travel on United) or United are the best option.
would love to see an updated report as Amtrak and others have either left the option of transferring from UR or changed their awards charts to reflect much more expensive options than described above.
Thanks
This post is awesome!! Would love to see an updated one!