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This week at Frequent Miler, Greg found that even a student could be approved for an Ink card. we covered some of the controversial aspects of family travel, and it’s time to decide whether or not to take the Marriott upgrade offer. Read about those topics and more in our Frequent Miler week in review recap.
Chase Business Ink as a student starter card
If you read my post yesterday about doing it better, let me just say that Greg’s son is well on the path to being able to “do it better” in the sense that he is expanding his points and miles fortune with ease and building up a history that will serve him well in the long run. In this latest score, he picks up an Ink Business Unlimited card. I imagine that not many of his college friends will whip out one of these when they go to split a check, but he’s on the right track to earn big rewards.
ANA business class vs Delta One Suites: which was better?
I got to fly ANA 777 business class to Japan and Delta One Suites on a 777 on the way back. How did they compare? In this post, you can read about which seat was more comfortable, who had better service, and why my choice between the two would be easy in the future.
Should you accept the Marriott 15 elite night upgrade offer? Will I?
This is the question of the week for me. I’ve been waiting for Greg’s analysis — and now that we have it in this post, I”m still not sure what I’ll do. This offer would put me over 50 nights and therefore give me a chance to select 5 suite night upgrades.With a statement cutting in about a week and a stay where I could use those SNAs in a month, I find myself asking: are 15 elite nights worth more to me than the potential for another points offer of as much as 50K points to upgrade? I’m really not sure. With these 15 nights, I’d probably make Titanium when all is said and done this year. Are 5 SNAs now and a fighting shot at Titanium worth more than the potential points? I need to decide. One thing I’ve concluded for sure: I won’t be keeping the old card for the ability to earn elite nights through spend. The truth is I could MS category 1 nights for half the spend, so if I only need a night or two to reach status, I can do it more efficiently.
The baby in business class debate
In my review of ANA business class vs Delta business class, I mentioned flying with my son because of the small differences in service that we noticed which pertained to traveling with a baby. I expected a couple of people might mention that babies have no place in business class, but I didn’t expect some people to be as passionate about it as they were. Neither was Greg prepared apparently, because here he published his thoughts and a comment of mine in response to those who wonder if they can do it and those who think they shouldn’t. Readers obviously feel strongly about this topic one way or another and I’m glad to see people weighing in with their opinions in the comments.
ANA business class awards to Japan [Sweet-spot spotlight]
In this week’s sweet-spot spotlight is ANA for its excellent award prices between North America and Japan. For just 75,000 Membership Rewards points you could fly round trip in business class from North American to Japan. Do I have your attention? See the post for more details.
Family travel’s influences on award travel
Now that my son is 15 months old, I find “family travel” to be influencing my travel decisions more and more. I’m starting to appreciate direct flights, a hotel that perhaps isn’t the fanciest but has a club lounge, etc. It’s interesting to me how quickly my travel choices are changing — and just proof that travel styles do change with a family (even for those of us who spent a decade traveling without children first).
Is Moneygram dropping the banhammer?
There are some concerning reports floating around of people being banned from buying MOs at Walmart based on their IDs — even those who were not exceeding published velocity limits. The long-term repercussions are thus far unknown, but it’s worth keeping your head down and your ear to the ground to monitor developments in this one if you’re buying money orders at Walmart.
Why travel with a baby
If the kid isn’t going to remember it and you don’t really need to take the trip, why travel with a baby? Here’s why I’m doing it. Am I crazy? Stupid? Self-centered? Abusive? I’m pretty sure I got accused of most of the above by some commenters, but others were supportive. See for yourself my reasons and feel free to add your perspective in the comments.
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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