Monday, November 10, 2008

Sky Miles

Since we are going to probably be doing the Navy again...I say probably because Nathan still has to audition and the Navy has to say its ok for him to get back in...we want to get a credit card that will give us sky miles.  
My questions to you, o blogging buddies are these:

1 - Have you ever had a sky miles card?
2 - Which one? (Visa, mastercard, etc.  as well as the airline)
3 - Did you like it?
4 - Was it easy to get tickets?  (as far as blackout dates, etc.)
5 - Do you still have it, and if not would you get one again?
6 - Do you fly a lot...and do you LIKE to fly?

Thanks oh friends of blog world. :)

6 comments:

Abby said...

Yeah, but what are the odds he wouldn't get past the audition? He's GOOD.

Ryann said...

He is a shoo in! Good luck anyway-although he doesn't really need it!

Can't help you with the sky miles-never had one.

Holly said...

I am not super worried about the audition - but because I am used to dissapointment I am not getting my hopes up yet - not until Uncle Sam is offering to pack up our stuff and ship it.

Lori said...

i personally don't know a ton about it, but my sister-in-law had to fly back like 3 times a month for the last year and ahalf from PA to finish her masters. she has skymiles. i'm sure she'd love to answer questions. her blog is jamesnmartha.com

Martha said...

Hey Holly,
I've seen you post on Lori's site and am more than happy to share my great knowledge and wisdom! ;) Sorry, I'm long winded... if you have any other questions, just let me know. I fly about every week, so yes, I have thousands of miles!

I have a sky miles card through American Express. I like it just fine because I get 10 miles for every $ I spend. So, when I buy my flights I get the miles I spent on the flight and the miles I flew. It's great! Delta's sky miles card (the one I have) has a yearly fee after the first year, I think around $90 or so, but if you are flying really often, then I think it's worth it. Besides, if you fly REALLY often, you can become a medallion member and have additional perks with the Delta Sky Miles card.

As for using the miles, they no longer have blackout dates. Instead, they have levels of expense (or number of miles needed for a flight). If you fly during peak days (which are different for first class and coach class) the NMN (number of miles needed, I'll abbreviate) is higher than flying during a less busy season. i.e., if we fly first class to Hawaii on Christmas and fly home on New Years, it's medium cost. January 2nd is high cost and January 7th is low cost. You can check these out on delta.com under the tab "SkyMiles" and then "Book Award Trip." There's only been one day I've seen that hasn't been available so far, and that was January 3rd. Otherwise, you can always find a flight, it just may cost you more miles.

I LOVE to fly! I love taking off, I love the people I meet... I really enjoy it. The only part I don't like is sitting for so long. It starts to hurt my back, so make sure you stretch and get up and walk!

A few other tips... Tuesdays-Thursday are cheaper flying days. Mondays are the busiest day (and possibly Sunday nights). I'm amazed at how many people fly every week for business, and Monday or Sunday are the days they fly.

Also, your MQM (Medallion Qualification Miles) begin to count in Jan and end in Dec. Meaning... all the miles you acquire in '08 will count toward your medallion upgrade which begins at 25,000 miles. Your tally begins once again in Jan '09. Whatever level you reached in '08 will carry over into '09, but you must reach the same number of miles in '09 if you want to keep the same status. Last year, I didn't begin using delta until October and was one flight away from Silver (25,000 miles) by the end of Dec. I was at 0 in Jan and had to begin my MQM again... it took me until the end of February before I was at Silver.

Now, why is reaching Medallion levels so great, you might ask? You can be upgraded to first class!! Where they feed you and everything is free! Drinks, movies, headphones, pillows, blankets, etc. They take such good care of you. They even take your coat and give your a moist towelette for your hands! It's great!!

...And if your flight is canceled and you have to reschedule, your name just moved up to the top of the list for the next flight, getting you out quicker!! Very helpful for layover flights.

...Also, you have a special line for security, you are given a special tag for your baggage (they take really good care of them), you don't have to pay the $3 administration fee at the curbside check-in, and you are allowed up to 3 bags... 70 lbs per bag! Yes, it is quite nice to be a medallion member. You also receive preferred seating when you are not upgraded to first class... usually the first two rows of the airplane... and you're one of the first groups to go online. You can even butt in line if your later and they are calling zone 6 or 7 by using their "breezeway" lane as you board the plane! Pretty wild, I know!

One more thing, if you flight the middle seat (which most don't like), you usually have more leg room and you get 500 extra bonus miles once you're a medallion member (at least I do, because I fly on Mondays, and it's so busy on Mondays).

Oh, and I forgot, every level of medallion gives you more bonus miles. I'm a Platinum member (75,000+ miles) and I receive 100% bonus miles. Each round-trip flight from Philly to Utah is about 3800 miles, so I get an extra 3800 miles every time I make the trip! Way cool!!

Okay... that was extremely long!! :) Hopefully that helps, and if you have any more questions, feel free to email me... marthaaston at gmail dot com. Take care and good luck!!

Sheila said...

Hey Holly, we use the Capital One Miles Visa. I don't know all the details, but we get 1.25 miles for every dollar and no fees, ever. It doesn't sound as good as Martha above with the Delta Card. I used our miles to fly my mom out this summer. It was super easy, I bought the tickets and then submitted a request and they just took that charge right off my bill. You get points which you can put towards travel, gift cards, or even cash if you choose. They never expire and there are no restrictions on flights or airlines. Good luck! I'm sure all will go great for you guys!