This week Nick is vacationing in Bora Bora. On our weekly FM on the Air, he compares the Conrad to the St Regis Bora Bora. Which is better? He also talks pros and cons of Hawaii vs. Bora Bora. Next, we talked vacation packages and shared tips for getting the most out of them. Finally, I talked live with a Delta Vacations rep to find out if the SkyMiles deal of the year has been extended (it has!). Watch it here:
FM on the Air Podcast
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On to our weekend recap of the week’s top stories:
More about Hawaii
Best ways to fly to Hawaii from the US mainland
I can’t get Hawaii off my mind. I’m ready to go back. Are you? Here are the best options for flying there.
Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu (Kauai, Hawaii)
We had a great stay at Koloa Landing Resort, but it is worth considering other options on the island. See my thoughts about this resort vs. the Grand Hyatt. Also check out reader comments with some great alternative suggestions.
Lots of travel package talk
Booking a flight? It’s worth checking vacation packages
Nick shows that you can sometimes save on airfare by buying vacation packages that include hotels and/or car rentals. This can sometimes save you money even if you don’t intend to stay in the hotel or drive the rental car. Here’s a personal example: my wife frequently flies to London for work. Often, the flights that don’t include a Saturday night stay in England are crazy expensive. In those cases, it is often much cheaper to buy a vacation package. We were once able to save her employer a lot of money by purchasing a Delta Vacations package that included a junior suite at the St. Pancras hotel. The combo was cheaper than flights alone!
Amazing Delta vacation packages promo: get 2c per mile + earn miles
This deal has been extended until September 6th 11:59pm ET! With this deal, you can get 2 cents per mile value from your Delta SkyMiles by booking a Delta Vacations package. This may just be the SkyMiles deal of the year.
Problems with banking SkyMiles via Delta Vacations
I tried to extend the usefulness of the Delta Vacations promo by booking and cancelling a package. The whole process turned out to be more of a headache than expected. Plus, recent reports from Facebook are that Delta Vacations is now insisting on refunding with miles instead of vouchers. Alas.
Credit Card News
Chase Adds Emirates Skywards As Transfer Partner
It’s always good to have additional transfer partners, so it was welcome news when we saw that Chase had added Emirates. Emirates is no Turkish Airlines when it comes to sweet spots, but there are a few. Look for us to post about these deals soon.
BA Visa $200 Award Fee Credit. 8 things you need to know.
Speaking of fuel surcharges, British Airways is one of the worst at always imposing huge extra fees on award tickets. Thankfully, the Chase British Airways Visa card has a new trick up its sleeve: it will rebate up to $200 per BA award trip. Here’s everything you need to know about this new feature.
Has the BA card just become a “must have” Chase card?
In this post, I asked whether the BA card’s new award rebate makes the BA card a “must have”. When I started writing the post, I thought the answer would be yes, but I quickly convinced myself otherwise. There’s no doubt that it is a more useful card than before, but it’s definitely not “must have” for most of us.
That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Have a great weekend!
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Where to see the posted pictures from Nick?
Can u go to Bora Bora in November or is it to wet ? I don’t like going somewhere warm when it’s warm here .
Good Pod cast .
CHEERs