Virgin Atlantic surprises and Southwest delights

This week at Frequent Miler, we started the week on eBay and Wyndham Rewards, but by the end of the week Southwest and Virgin Atlantic were the main things on our minds. Read on to find out why in this week in review at FM.

Avoiding an eBay scammer

Thanks to what I learned years ago from Greg regarding double dips, triple dips, and other Extreme Stacking techniques, my preferred method to earn miles without flying is reselling. But it’s not all roses and sunshine — there are scammers who try to find a way to buy your item, get their money back, and  keep your stuff. Just last weekend, I had a buyer trying such a move, and eBay didn’t make the resolution clear. In this post, find out what happened and what I did.

The best Wyndham redemption I’ve ever made

For quite some time, Greg has advocated a strategy of collecting a diverse array of points so you can answer when opportunity knocks.(See: The earn & burn fallacy: Shall we give hoarding and cherry picking a try instead?) Back in February, I was just starting with Frequent Miler and I was in a hotel room late one night when I saw that I could rent what looked like a mansion  for 15K points per night. My wife had already fallen asleep and I didn’t even wake her up – I got on the phone and booked it. She only found out about it when she read Frequent Miler the next morning. Last month, we took the trip and here are the pictures from our 9-bedroom, 6-bathroom estate in the English countryside thanks to having a small stash of Wyndham Rewards points.

When Delta Mileage Upgrade Awards Don’t Work

Greg is back from his trip across the pond. They say you learn something new every day, and he learned a lesson on day one about how to not end up in Delta One. Find out what he learned and how you can avoid ending up in Comfort+ with no sleep on the hop across the pond.

Book Delta with Virgin Atlantic miles online! (again)

One of the most exciting discoveries of the week is the return of the ability to book Delta flights with Virgin Atlantic miles. That’s great news because Virgin Atlantic both offers some good rates on Delta flights and the current 30% transfer bonus from Membership Rewards means it’ll cost even fewer points than normal. In fact, for at least 12 hours, things got really interesting when Virgin was showing wide open availability in Delta One on transcontinental routes like New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco for just 22.5K one-way. It was so good that I booked my first trip on Delta since circa 1986. Unfortunately, they are no longer showing much availability at all (and rates have increased), but the fact that Delta flights are bookable online with Virgin Atlantic miles is welcome news nonetheless.

Southwest to Hawaii: Get your Companion Passes ready

In news that has been anticipated for years, Southwest finally announced the intention to start selling tickets to Hawaii next year. Details are still scant, but I can’t imagine it”s any coincidence that they put out a promotion for Californians to earn a Companion Pass by opening one credit card and making a single purchase. I think they want Californians to get a taste of the good life with the Companion Pass and grab themselves a nice share of the market — and I couldn’t be more excited, even as an east coast resident. Now could be a great time to set yourself up for a 2018/2019 Companion Pass so you can say “Aloha” to paradise.

Florence! Fewer words, more photos

Whether you have been to Florence or haven’t been to Florence, I can bet that you probably get jealous every time you hear someone talk about their recent trip to the heart of Tuscany. In this post, live vicariously through Greg’s eyes…and then start collecting those miles so you can be there next year!

Should I pounce on the Amex transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic?

We know that Greg would not only pay 1.2 million miles to go to Necker Island once — but he’d do it again. He further outlines another Virgin Atlantic redemption that’s on his radar (and also on mine!). But will he go all-in with his Membership Rewards points given the current 30% transfer bonus? Find out in this post. By the way, for those wondering, transfers from Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic are instant. Read on to find out if he’ll be making a transfer and why or why not.

That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Check back soon for our week in review around the web and this week’s last chance deals.

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