Tuesday, 24 November 2015

Play Dough

Dear Annabelle,

We just made some new play dough this morning.  Here is our recipe:

Mix together:
1c salt
1c tapioca starch
2c rice flour

Add:
1 Tbsp oil
1 1/2c boiling water

The last few times we have also added some natural food colouring.  Those ones I keep in the fridge, the previous batches I just kept out.

Hugs,
Jen

Monday, 2 November 2015

Aeroplan vs. United Fees

Dear Annabelle,

This is an earlier post I wrote but it is still a mystery to me.  I looked into summer 2016 flights DEN-YOW the other day and found a similar trend with the fees for United being quite a bit lower than with Aeroplan.

----------

I am trying to compare awards with Aeroplan to those with United MileagePlus.  Specifically at the moment from DEN to YOW.  I managed to find an award ticket with the same flights on both airlines (Sept 8 to Sept 30, 2015).  This comparison flight had one stop both ways in Dulles and all flights were with United (same flight numbers with both programs).

Aeroplan was 25K plus 107.90 USD in fees:
U.S. Passenger Safety Fee
$11.20
U.S Passenger Facility Charge
$13.50
U.S. International Transportation Tax
$35.40
Canada Domestic/International Air Travel Security Charge
$10.00
Canada Harmonized Sales Tax
$2.30
Canada Domestic/International Airport Improvement Fee
$18.00
U.S. Customs User Fee
$5.50
U.S.A Immigration User Fee
$7.00
U.S Agriculture Fee
$5.00
Total per passenger
$107.90
Total passengers
1

United was 25K and 59 USD in fees:

  • September 11th Security Fee $5.60
  • Canadian Security Charge $10.00
  • Canada Harmonized Sales Tax $2.30
  • Canada Airport Improvement Fee $18.00
  • U.S. Customs User Fee $5.50
  • U.S. Immigration User Fee $7.00
  • U.S. APHIS User Fee $5.00
  • September 11th Security Fee $5.60

For comparison United says that I could buy this ticket for $758.92 without redeeming miles.

So the question is why are these fees different (by $48.90).  Neither are charging a fuel surcharge, but the fees are differing based on who you book with.

The following charges are the same:
  • Canadian Security Charge $10.00
  • Canada Harmonized Sales Tax $2.30
  • Canada Airport Improvement Fee $18.00
  • U.S. Customs User Fee $5.50
  • U.S. Immigration User Fee $7.00
  • U.S. APHIS User Fee $5.00
And the "U.S. Passenger Safety Fee" on Aeroplan equates to the two September 11th Security Fees on United.

That leaves the following fees on the Aeroplan ticket that aren't on the United ticket:
  • U.S Passenger Facility Charge $13.50
  • U.S. International Transportation Tax $35.40
These add up to the $48.90 we were looking for.  I believe that the Transportation Tax is 7.5% of the ticket price so this will vary by the cost of the ticket; making pricer tickets even more pricey with Aeroplan.

In the ITA Matrix this routing shows up with the following fees:
  • US Transportation Tax (US) $46.77
  • US September 11th Security Fee (AY) $11.20
  • US Passenger Facility Charge (XF) $13.50
  • US Flight Segment Tax (ZP) $16.00
  • USDA APHIS Fee (XA) $5.00
  • US Immigration Fee (XY) $7.00
  • US Customs Fee (YC) $5.50
  • Ottawa Airport Improvement Fee (SQ) $18.00
  • Canadian Harmonized Sales Tax (ON) (RC) $2.30
  • Canadian Air Travelers Security Charge (CA) $10.00
Interestingly this adds up to $135.27. That said I didn't find this flight on the ITA Matrix until about 12 hours after I found the other two so I am not sure if that is having an impact.  Without the Transportation Tax and Facility Charge, which were included in the Aeroplan but not the United fee, it equals $75.  That is still more than United: So what is included here that isn't on United's fees?  The answer: The "US Flight Segment Tax" is listed on the ITA Matrix fees but not on the Aeroplan or United MileagePlus list.

Why does Aeroplan charge the Transportation Tax and Facility Charge but United doesn't?  And why is the Transportation Tax higher in the ITA Matrix than it was for the award flight with Aeroplan?  I just double checked and the Aeroplan flight is giving the same fees now, so it isn't a matter of the delay between checking.

-------
Nov 2/15: Just doing a bit more looking around.  It seems like the US International Transportation Tax is a constant value and is a combination of a $17.70 departure tax and a $17.70 arrival tax.  The 7.5% I was referring to applies to domestic flights.

Here is a link to general airline fees.  And according to this (very old) thread I am not alone in my confusion.  Oh wow, here is an entire recent thread about this very subject, including a lot of really grumpy people.  A lot of confusion about why Aeroplan is charging these additional fees and United is not.  Is it because Aeroplan is separate from Air Canada?  Is it because some other small fees are being charged so it isn't a completely free ticket?  People don't seem to know but they are mad at being charged both the passenger facility charge and the US International Tax.

Hugs,
Jen





British Airways Avios

Dear Annabelle,

Another old post that will soon be partially redundant, at least for the within North America values....

There is an Avios calculator website that lets you plug in your location and destination.  This is telling me for Dublin and Munich from Denver it would be around 27K or 30K each way.  This compares with the other airlines, except for a lot of them might let us do an open jaw and see more places in Europe.  Not sure I want to lock us into it costing more to do this by using Avios.

This post lists hubs of partners for Avios points.  We are not a hub but we do get US Airways and American flights from DEN.  There are not any fuel surcharges within North America (I think).  I wonder how Avios would work for going to Ottawa.  Flying DEN to YOW through Chicago would give 888 miles and 655 miles - under 650 is 4500 miles and to 1150 is 7500 so both of these would be 7500 or 15000 but this is only one way so it would be 30K return, so not as good as the base 25K.  Wonder if there is a routing where one is under 650 and one is still under 1150.  This would give 4500+7500 each way OR 12000, so 24000 return.  Doesn't really help but could be an option.

Here is the Travel is Free Guide to Avios.  And here is a discussion of the Household Accounts feature of Avios.  Basically you can pool the rewards and they get used out of everyone's accounts.

TPG outlines how you would pick between BA and Virgin Atlantic:
"If it’s a question of transferring miles to Virgin Atlantic or to British Airways, it’s worth having a look at Virgin’s mileage chart and comparing it to BA’s mileage calculator to see which requires more on your route. For example, a roundtrip economy ticket from JFK to London on Virgin only costs 35,000* (26,000 if booked as two one-ways separately), 55,000 or 80,000 miles roundtrip in economy, premium economy and business class respectively, while BA would charge you 40,000, 60,000 or 80,000 Avios for the same classes of service, so in economy, I’d do Virgin to save a few thousand miles.  However, if pricing awards one-way, they seem to be coming up cheaper. For instance, a one-way award from New York-London was pricing at only 13,000 miles and just under $97.50 in taxes and fees. There were very limited dates, so play around to see if you can find these lower priced awards."

As far as Europe the key is the fuel surcharges and whether you could find a route without too many.  One option is to use BA on Aer Lingus.

Some other links:


Hugs,
Jen


Award Availability Links

Dear Annabelle,

I feel I still have a lot to learn about searching for award seats.  I am sure this will become more relevant now that we have points!

Some links for sites that could help:

http://travelisfree.com/2014/12/02/master-chart-of-what-sites-search-airline-award-availability/

http://wandr.me/award-search/

http://thepointsguy.com/2015/02/whats-the-best-way-to-search-airline-award-availability/

http://www.kvstool.com/

http://www.expertflyer.com/

https://awardnexus.com/user/login?url=%2F

Hugs,
Jen


GCMap

Dear Annabelle,

Have you ever used the Great Circle Mapper site?

I keep going back to it to look up distances since I need them for comparing the mileage programs that are distance based.

Hugs,
Jen

Best bet: DEN to MCO (Orlando)

Dear Annabelle,

This is another old one I am cleaning up from when I was trying to decide how to book our flights to MCO (Orlando) for December.  We ended up paying cash on Southwest.  We were able to get it for $1424 for all 4 of us, direct, and Southwest includes 2 free bags each!

.......
DEN to MCO (Orlando): 1546 miles
With a direct flight this would fit in the 10K each way bucket for British Airways Avios.  Cutting 5K each from the rest of the carriers that are generally 25K (or a total savings of 20K for the family).  I guess the question is whether there are fuel charges and whether the miles are worth using here given the cost of the flights.

That said, I need it direct though because the two lower levels are 4500 and 7500 and these would add up to more if combined. Sadly American does not fly direct DEN-MCO, but are all showing connections. Connecting through DFW is 641 miles crow flies followed by 985, resulting in 24K points. Mostly equivalent point wise and not direct. This Denver Avios Map was helpful here.

Turns out that Avios flights "within the Americas don’t have YQ to pass on" according to here.

The ITA matrix is only showing direct flights for United and Frontier.
.......

I wonder whether Southwest shows up in the ITA Matrix, given it obviously has direct flights and I wasn't seeing them here.  It doesn't show up in Google Flights and they are running off a similar system.  I wonder why not.  

It is funny to read my analysis of the Avios points above since it will all be mute soon.  Avios is increasing their within the US points required to be 7500 for the cheapest category and going up from there.

Hugs, 
Jen

Fuel Surcharges

Dear Annabelle,

I am trying to clean up drafts that I wrote a while ago and this is one of them.  Really just some compiled info I had found at the time....

Having a good understanding of fuel surcharges seems to be key to acquiring award travel that is close to free as opposed to still hundreds of dollars.  Especially at this point in time when I am trying to decide who to collect points with it seems a good time to set up a strategy based on who does not have fuel surcharges.

Delta SkyMiles

Here is a chart indicating which partner airlines you pay fuel surcharges on if you book with SkyMiles. Along with the chart it highlights the related point that "Delta SkyMiles imposes fuel surcharges for all award tickets originating in Europe. So regardless of which airline you fly, you will pay fuel surcharges when you book a SkyMiles award originating in Europe." This first chart seems to differ from the chart here that indicates that all SkyTeam charges and passes on fuel surcharges. This post outlines a way to get around the fuel surcharges for flights from Europe.  This post seems to confirm the first chart with a mix of charging and not charging fuel surcharges.  Good reminder to always double check my facts in this points world before I settle on a strategy.

The last post from 2012 summarized the following:
  • "There are four surcharge-free options to Europe: Delta, KLM, Air France, and Alitalia.
  • There are two surcharge-free options to Asia: Delta and Korean.
  • There are three surcharge-free options to the Americas: Delta, Aeromexico, and Aerolineas Argentinas.
  • There are two surcharge-free options to Australia: Delta and Virgin Australia.
  • Delta has pretty awful availability to all those places except on its New York to London route.
    Virgin Australia, Korean, and the European partners have pretty good availability among surcharge-free airlines." 
Travel is Free Advice

Travel is Free outlines how great ANA is but that they pass on all fuel surcharges so you need to look for the airlines that don't have them. He also lists the "Star Alliance airlines without fuel surcharges:
  • Avianca 
  • Air New Zealand 
  • TACA 
  • United within the Americas 
  • Air Canada within the Americas" 
And says how "There are other airlines where the fuel surcharges would be minor… but I don’t get why you would even bother. Why not collect and use United or AA miles for a trip to Europe, Africa or Asia and then us ANA to South America, Central America, and the Caribbean? That’s what I’d recommend."

Other Links

These Posts on TPG give an overview of the fuel surcharges for Aeroplan and ANA. And here is talk about how Air France Blue has capped their fuel surcharges.

Hugs, Jen



The Big Spend

Hello Annabelle,

Mid-September we decided, spur of the moment really, to go for a big set of credit card applications.  Or an App-o-rama as I sometimes hear them called.  I have heard arguments for both doing lots of applications at once (so you have a 3 month wait before new applications) and for waiting and doing them little by little (so you can take advantage for a short-term lucrative offer).

SO we applied to:

AMEX Everyday for Andrew AND Jen
  • 25K MR points for 2K min spend with no annual fee
  • Both approved
  • We wanted to get this while the bonus was high and because we will use this to keep our MR points when we cancel the other higher fee cards (that were waived in the first year)
Citibank Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card for Andrew AND Jen
  • 75K HHonors points for 2K min spend with no annual fee
  • Andrew got approved right away.
  • I needed to fill in an extra form so that they could request my tax transcript.  I just heard yesterday that I have been approved.  
Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard® for Andrew
  • 40000 bonus miles (equivalent to $400 travel credit) for 3K min spend
  • Annual fee waived first year
  • Andrew got approved right away.
  • This card has a pretty high amount that you have to spend to use the travel credit, I think it needs to be at least $100.  We charged our flights home at Christmas to it.  They are $340 a person so I wonder if this will be an issue to get the full value of the bonus?
Discover Miles for Andrew
  • No fee card.
  • 3X for first year.  So no sign up bonus but if you signed up now you got 3X for the first year instead of the normal 1.5X.
  • Andrew approved right away.
TD Aeroplan for Andrew
  • 25K for 1K spend.  Pretty sure that it has a fee but waived first year.
  • Andrew had to phone and it was sent to a "senior lender" but then approval came in the mail.
US Bank REI Card for Andrew (didn't get)
  • This card gave a $100 gift card for doing not much; one purchase maybe.
  • We got a letter that Andrew needed to call but he was so busy with work that he never did.
AMEX SPG for Andrew and Jen (got for Andrew)
  • 30K SPG points with 3K min spend.  Fee waived first year.
  • This was the one where we learned you shouldn't apply for 2 AMEX cards on the same day.  They put the second application on hold for 5 days and then evaluate it, which given you have just done an app-o-rama is not the best plan.  Even with this Andrew got approved after the mandatory wait.
  • I did not get approved because I had already got two lending cards in the past 90 days.  We think this means credit cards as opposed to charge cards.  At any rate I had just applied with the AMEX Everyday for my third AMEX in a fairly short time frame and this was my fourth.  
This has lead to the past month and a bit being quite focused on making these minimum spends, getting the payments set up, etc.  I have set up a system for payments where we have a spreadsheet that tracks when they have been paid and when they have been checked.  One of us pays and the other checks each payment.  We have been able to coordinate the dates so we each have two "credit card pay" days a month.  

All of these approvals meant we had $13,000 in minimum spend to make!   (Plus some left over minimum spend that we hadn't yet finished on a previous card at the time of these applications.) As I am writing we have $1000 left to spend!  Andrew got really into manufactured spending and did a bunch of research.  Great for me since that was not my interest (apart from the Kiva idea).  Some of big spends are listed below:

Gift cards to:
- Grocery store200
- Gas75
- General (AMEX, MC)1000
Gift cards to Serve4000
Kiva335
Donations2362
Carbon offsets400
Christmas Travel1716.38
Memberships157
Neufeld course526.16
Time share annual fee400

The ideal was to have all the big gift cards transfer to Serve but it didn't work out for the AMEX and the MC ones he got.  The rest have transferred well and then we can send a cheque from the Serve account to me so it can go back in our bank account.  So for the gift cards we paid around $6-$7 per $500 card.  Worth it to make the minimum spend, especially since we tried to do it at stores where the card would get 2X most of the time.  

Most of the other expenses were things that we had been waiting to spend money on.  Andrew's shares from his first year of work vested in August so we had been waiting for the extra cash flow to do donations, carbon offset, Christmas travel tickets, etc.  Just worked out well that we were able to use these annual lump sum expenses to meet these minimum spends.  

Kind of exciting to think that with just this round alone we will earn this many points:

AMEX MR50000
HHonors75000
Barclay Miles40000 ($400)
SPG30000
Aeroplan25000

Hugs,
Jen