Why Capital One Venture / Venture X are the best Credit Cards for MLB Fans
View from Capital One’s exclusive seats for Brewers Opening Day 2024
Our main focus at Fare Game Travel is certainly travel, typically on points, whether earned via credit card sign up bonus and credit card spend. Outside of travel rewards, there is typically very limited circumstances where you can earn significant return from credit card spend.
Capital One is by far one of our favorite companies out there when it comes to travel rewards, especially via the Capital One Venture and Capital One Venture X. Both cards earn a straightforward 2 miles per $1 spent (and 5-10x on travel via their portal), so unlike most rewards cards there are no category bonuses to keep track of and no need to worry about which card to use on what purchase. Both cards offer a sign up bonus of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of holding the card. The other great thing about Capital One cards, is points post shortly after a charge posts, as do the bonuses. That means if you opened a card on Saturday, hit the minimum spend for the bonus with a large purchase after receiving the card on Tuesday, you could possibly see the points post by Friday. This is not typical with credit cards and most points and bonuses post after the statement is issued, so sometimes you might have a redemption in mind or be short on points, but need to wait up to a month for points to post to be able to use them.
While travel is certainly where a majority of all of our miles are spent, there is one circumstance where we may sometimes use miles outside of travel which is unique to Capital One - Excellent tickets to MLB Games. Capital One is the official bank and credit card partner of MLB and as the official partner they offer 4 tickets to all 2,430 MLB games via what are essentially season tickets for every MLB team. Capital One releases the same 4 tickets for each game, typically a month at a time which can be purchased for 5,000 miles per ticket in quantities of 2. These tickets vary in location based on team, but are typically excellent tickets valued at $100 per ticket or more. Popular teams and dates obviously get picked up pretty quickly, but last year we were able to redeem miles for 2 Cubs - Brewers games at American Family Field in Milwaukee. This year we were able to secure tickets to opening day at American Family Field. At this particular stadium, the tickets are located in the Field Diamond Platinum Section, 5 rows directly behind home plate. The face value of the tickets in this section in 2024 range from $97 for a mid week, non premium game, to $302 for a premium weekend game against the Cubs. That means if you were to redeem miles for 4 seats to see a Brewers game via Capital One’s exclusive seats, for 20,000 points, you would receive between $388-$1,208 in value which equates to 1.94 - 6 cents per point. Since these cards earn 2 points per $1 spent, this essentially equates to a 3.88%-12% return on your credit card spend (Not including any potential sign up bonus). This means, used miles just for baseball tickets, using the sign up bonus and points earned from the spend for the sign up bonus (83,000 miles total) you could get 2 tickets to 8 games, or 4 tickets to 4 games with a total value of $1,552 - $4,832. This rivals even the best best business class redemptions using miles. Keep in mind, this is just one example of tickets in one of MLBs smallest markets, so you can expect to get at least that value or more from many teams, especially for popular games.
To find tickets for Capital One Exclusive events, you just need to log in to Capital One, go to the Entertainment Tab under Rewards
Then click access MLB Tickets
Then you can search by team, for both home and away games
From here, you can scroll through all games, both home and away. If the Capital One tickets are available for a particular game you will see Cardholder Exclusive highlighted in blue above the event.
If you click on Cardholder Exclusive or Get Tickets, it should take you to the event Page where you should only see one section highlighted with tickets available at 5,000 miles each. If this is what you see, these are the Capital One tickets.
Here is another example of available tickets, for a Chicago White Sox game.
If you click on a game that does not have the Cardholder Exclusive note above it, you will see a normal seat map with resale market availability which are offered via Vividseats. While you can purchase resale tickets with your Capital One Miles, this isn’t a great redemption value and I would not recommend booking with points.
Overall, I feel like this is certainly an overlooked benefit of Capital One cards and adds significant value for baseball fans. As of writing, tickets have only been released through 5/31 (and most games, especially for large market teams are gone) and June tickets are likely to be released in the next week or two. Generally tickets are released a calendar month at a time for all games. This means you could still catch your favorite team this year from excellent seats if you apply today!
If you are interested in applying for the Capital One Venture or Capital One Venture X, please consider using our referral links so we can continue to produce more content like this! See you at a baseball game soon!
EXPIRED - Deal Alert! One Way Business Class Flights JFK to LIS for $473
From now until 12/5/23, Avianca LifeMiles is running a promotion for purchasing miles where you receive 2x1 plus a 60% bonus. While LifeMiles often runs sales on points purchases, this is typically one of the biggest bonuses they offer. This means you can take advantage of one of LifeMiles redemption sweet spots on flights from JFK to Lisbon which prices out at just 35,000 miles (Typically LifeMiles business awards to Europe are 63,000 miles), by purchasing 14,000 miles from the LifeMiles program and receiving a bonus of 21,700. The total cost to purchase these miles is currently $462 with the promotion. This in combination with LifeMiles low fuel/tax charges of $26.70 to $54.60 means you could be flying business one way to Europe for less than $500 cash. If booking for 2 people, the miles purchase bonus is actually slightly higher, so you could purchase 27,000 miles and receive 70,200 miles for $891 bringing the price down to $445.50 per person plus taxes. The cheapest cash price on these same flights right now anytime in the next year is $2,397 and the cheapest round trip is around $1999. Flying within Europe is typically quite inexpensive, so you can utilize this promotion for a cheap flight to Europe and if Lisbon is not your final destination just find another flight from LIS to wherever it is you would like to go. Unfortunately, this rate only works on the Eastbound flight, whereas return flights to the US price out at the standard 63,000 miles which could also get you from most origins in Europe to most destinations in the US, purchasing points for the return would cost about $825 + around $120 in taxes and fees.
See below on how to find availability and how to book this deal!
The first step to finding availability on the LifeMiles website, is creating an account and logging in. From the travel dropdown, you want to use the smartsearch tool and search one way from JFK to LIS. You also want to select the number of passengers as well as the business or first search.
Once you search, you will see a calendar that should display availability with a blue line on the date. This is a good quick start to try and find availability, but from my experience, it is not always correct, and dates that do not have a blue line do not necessarily mean there is no availability.
In this example, if I click on January 14th, I see there is availability on TAP Portugal at the rate of 35,000 miles plus $26.70 in taxes.
On the other hand, if I search on January 24st, which does not show availability on the search screen, all of these options will show up for economy flights, but the direct TAP flight does not have seats available.
If I click the drop down on each flight, economy space shows in the left column and business availbility shows in the right column. This is why it is always best to check manually as not all availability shows up on the award search. This is an example of a connecting flight on 1/21/24 via Brussels on Brussels Airlines that also prices out at 35,000 miles + $51.50 in taxes.
Here is another example via Swiss Airlines via Zurich (with second leg in economy) on 1/21/24 that prices out slightly higher at 36,610 miles + $54.60 in taxes.
Finding availability before purchasing miles is very important, as with any points redemptions, availability is limited. But when you are ready to purchase miles, you can go to the main LifeMiles landing page where you will see the pop up for the current bonus.
On the next screen, you can chose the amount of miles you want to purchase. In this case, a 14,000 mile purchase will net you a total of 35,700 at a cost of $462.00. This amounts to .0129 per point.
The total amount of miles with the bonus is not displayed, until you get to the next page, so you may need to try a few different amounts to get the exact amount of miles you are looking for.
If purchasing 27,000 miles, you will receive a total of 70,200 miles, maximizing the additional bonus amount for a total cost per point of .0127
Not everyone collects points and miles for traveling and deals like this can sometimes make it worthwhile to purchase points for specific redemptions and still get incredible value. This is certainly a huge sweet spot for Europe and can be a great value when transferring points, using points you have earned, or in this case, purchasing points. Let us know in the comments if you have ever taken advantage of this or other points purchasing options to save on booking business class flights for way less than cash!
Travel Review - New Delta SkyClub Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5
It is widely known that Terminal 5 at ORD is essentially airline lounge desert with no good options when it comes to lounge access before your flight. To be honest, the lounges and number of lounges considering the volume of International flights from T5 are absolutely terrible.
It was certainly welcome news when Delta announced they were moving all ORD flights to Terminal 5 from Terminal 2 and opening their newest SkyClub 10/12/22. This was certainly positive for anyone flying on SkyTeam flight in business class or flying on a SkyTeam International flight or holding SkyTeam Elite Plus Status through a SkyTeam partner and flying internationally. (except of course unless you are a Delta Medallion Member and were affected by their drastic lounge access policy changes 2/2/23).
I was excited to try the new lounge on a recent trip to Mexico City on AeroMexico. I was surprisingly able to access the lounge with my ITA airways status which is technically SkyTeam Elite Plus (most airlines have not recognized ITA or elite members since they technically became part of SkyTeam almost a year and a half ago).
As soon as you walk into the lounge there is a large bar with a seating area and a service area. There was quite a large selection of complimentary beverages including beers and quality wines and liquors. This is a huge step up from the American Airlines Admirals Clubs I have been in.
Across from the bar is a large seating area with high back couches and tables. I was quite surprised at how quite the lounge was while visiting at 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon. Delta Sky Clubs have been notoriously overcrowded and many have had lines out the door over the last year, so perhaps the changes to accessibility have affected the volumes of people visiting.
At the buffet table there were a few hot items including jerk penne pasta
Jerk BBQ chicken
Mixed salads
As well as some desserts
I went with the chicken noodle soup, jerk chicken, and jerk chicken penne. Honestly it was some of the best lounge food, if not some of the best food I have ever had in an airport. It was all very fresh and very good. Even though this is just a standard lounge, the food was hands down better than many business class lounges or first class lounges I have visited around the world (except for maybe the Cathay Pacific Lounge at London Heathrow - the fresh steamed bao there is amazing)
Past the main seating area and buffet is the drink station with a flavored water station
There is also a fountain coke product machine
As well as tea, lemonade, and coffee
Past the buffet there is a long walkway with more open seating along the side leading to the back of the lounge.
Towards the back of the lounge there is another large bar along with a bunch of high top chairs and tables
To the left of the bar there is another area with a drink station, snacks, and a few more seating areas.
This is also where you will find the TV area with a 4 TV wall. Perfect if you happen to be traveling on a Sunday or during March Madness
Next to the bar they had a special pop up highlighting local flavors. In this instance, they had a Vienna Beef hot dog stand with Chicago dogs made to order. This was certainly a cool touch even though a hot dog wouldn’t be the first thing I would be looking for in a lounge.
This is another view of the back seating area
Here is a view of the back bar
There was also some grab and go candy and snacks in the back past the drink station.
Overall, I must say I am very impressed with the new SkyClub at ORD. There is a ton of space, quality food and drink, and just an overall quality feel to the space that rivals even some of the United Polaris Lounges or AA Flagship Lounges. Unfortunately,with the recent changes to access, it is becoming harder and harder to get access to the lounge. Hopefully next time you are flying out of Terminal 5 at O’Hare you too can experience the SkyClub as well. It really is a welcome change from the dull, terrible lounges that have always been in Terminal 5
Have you been? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Super Bowl Cash Back Bonus - Earn $30 back on a $30 purchase, plus an additional 10% back - Using Rakuten to Earn Cash Back on Travel and Everyday Purchases
Rakuten is offering up some significant cash back bonuses for the Super Bowl well over their normal amounts on many sites. Some of the 10% cash back travel promo include, IHG, Hertz, Best Western, Samsonite, Sixt, Away, Hotels.com, Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, and Groupon. All of these bonuses are at least 3x the standard cash back amounts.
Some other big retailers offering 10% cash back right now are Best Buy, DSW, Sephora, Ulta, Adidas, Gap, Bergdorf Goodman and many many more. Sales like this only happen a few times a year on Rakuten so take advantage ASAP.
Sign up for Rakuten via this link and receive $30 cash back on your first purchase of $30 or more via the portal. This offer is $20 more than the standard sign up bonus! This potentially means if you spend $40 at one of the 10% cash back stores, you can receive $34 cash back. This is a limited time deal,, so sign up ASAP to lock in the $30, as you have 90 days to spend $30 for the cash back.
Rakuten has been a favorite of ours for several years and we have earned over $1200 cash back, mostly on hotel bookings through Priceline. Instead of cash back you can also earn AMEX Membership Rewards if you are currently an AMEX card holder which is a great option to help build your rewards balance. There are retailers including clothing, electronics, auto parts, etc with 10% cash back right now as well, so if you were looking to make any online purchases, check to see if your retailer is on Rakutens site.
Earn up to 30% Cash Back AND Miles While Dining Out or Filling Up
Earning miles via the different airline dining portals has always been one of our favorite ways to earn miles on everyday spend. There are several different ways in which you can now visit many of those same restaurants and stack offers to earn cash back at the same time. Utilizing these on top of a credit card with a bonus category spend on restaurants or gas can makes these even more attractive.
Here are some of our favorite ways to multiply your rewards for places you may already be visiting.
Seated - If you live in or traveling to New York, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, or Philadelphia you can use the Seated App to book reservations or earn rewards on Walk In reservations and earn up to 29% back in gift cards on your pre tip total just for dining at one of the participating restaurants. Sign up and use promo code brad682 to get and additional $15 reward on your first Seated meal of $40 or more. This means with just this promo, if you spend $50 at a restaurant offering a 29% reward, you can get a gift card for $29.50 on your first booking. These rewards can be redemed for Uber, Amazon, Starbucks, Wayfair, StubHub, Adidas, Nordstom, Sephora, Nike, Hotels.com, Itunes, H&M, Target, lululemon, Airbnb, Macys, Crate&Barrel, REI, CB2, AMC, Delta, Dunkin, LL Bean, Lands End, Athleta, Petco, 1800 Flowers, Ulta, Bed Bath and Beyond, Barnes and Noble, Bath and Body Works, Showtime, CVS, and TJ Maxx gift cards. This is by far one of the most lucrative dining offers out there and is not to be missed. Simply find a restaurant on the app, make a reservation or chose the walk in option, upload your receipt after dining and start earning. Be sure to lock in the $15 sign up bonus now, as previous offers have been less. Once you sign up you will lock in your bonus and have at least until the end of 2023 to complete your first dine.
UpSide - UpSide is another cash back program that you can use at many gas stations, restaurants, and even some retail stores throughout the country. We have found many restaurants on the UpSide app are on the dining portals as well making this an excelent stack. I have found the cash back on gas along with extra bonuses to be a great way to quickly rack up cash back. Sign up at this link and use our promo code EXJEX for an EXTRA $.15 / gallon cash back on your next fill up. You can cash out directly to a bank account or to many different gift cards with this program once your balance reaches $15.
Dosh - Sign up and Download Dosh and add your credit and debit cards to receive automatic cash back on purchases at many restaurants. Many of the restaurants on Dosh seem to also be on the airline dining portals, but Dosh runs on a different platform and thus is typically stackable with airline dining portals as well as Seated and UpSide.
If you are not in one of the cities that Seated is in, we have found that many times it is possible to stack dining portal rewards, UpSide, and Dosh, meaning you can earn actual cash back of a combined 12% AND up to 5 miles per dollar. It doesn’t cost anything to join any of these programs, so it is a win-win.
Let us know how your experience is with these programs!
EXPIRED - How you can extend IHG Diamond Status through 2023 without staying a single night
If you took advantage of the now dead IHG Status Challenge last month, there are many people who have reported having their Diamond Status extended through December 31st 2023 just by paying to join the InterContinental Ambassador Program. This is not a published guarantee, but many people have confirmed that their status was instantly extended after joining the Ambassador Program. While it costs $200 or 40,000 IHG points to join the Ambassador program, in exchange you get guaranteed upgrades at all InterContinental properties, a free weekend award night (this could easily pay for itself), and right now, if you stay 2 nights before 1/31/23, you will also receive 20,000 bonus points. These points are worth at least $100, so if you have a stay planned at a InterContinental property before the end of the year, this could make this offer even better.
I decided to pay for the Ambassador Program to be able to give IHG Diamond a try for the next year and see for myself if the new program is worthwhile. Perhaps it could be used for status matches to other programs like I have used my Choice Diamond Status, my Caesars Diamond Status, and Hilton Gold Status in the past. I have a stay coming up at a the Kimpton Angler's in South Beach over Thanksgiving and will report back on any perks coming from joining the Ambassador program as well as whether the Kimpton award night stay qualifies as a qualifying stay for the 20,000 bonus points.
Paying $200 to extend a hotel status certainly is not for everyone, but with free breakfast, guaranteed late checkout, and early check in(subject to availability), using these perks only a few times in a year will easily be worth more than $200. Let us know if you decide to give the Ambassador program a try and what your experience is with it.
Travel Review - Admirals Club Lounge at BNA - Nashville International Airport
On my recent mileage/status run on Southwest and AA I was planning on a 50 minute layover at BNA before my connection to MIA on Southwest. After leaving MKE on time, my flight ended up landing 30 minutes early and since my connecting flight was just a few gates away in the same terminal, I had quite a bit of time on my hands. I noticed that the Admirals Club was on my way to the next gate and decided to stop by and see if I could get in with my AA ticket that was departing MIA later in the day via my OneWorld Sapphire Status.
I explained to the desk agent that I did not have a flight out of BNA but rather out of MIA later in the day, but she welcomed me in and thanked me for my business. I will say, this was a surprise to me that it was such a seamless entrance as my usual experience with AA agents usually involves having to show them AA and/or OneWorld published rules before they finally admit they are wrong and allow me in (this has happened more times than I can count). Given that this is not an AA hub or even a very big location, this surprised me even more. Let’s just say this was not my experience in PHL later in the day.
The entrance to the Admirals Club at BNA - Located in Concourse C across from Gate C 10
I had never been to this particular Admirals Club and did not really know what to expect given that BNA is not really much of an AA hub or focus city. The lounge itself was small as expected, but well laid out and was quite empty when I arrived at 7AM on a Saturday morning.
Check in desk - Admirals Club BNA
Many people love Admirals Club Guacamole Stations sponsored by the AA Executive World Elite Mastercard where they make fresh guac for you, but I did not realize that they also offer Avocado toast in the mornings at the locations where they offer these stations (They are not available at all AAdmirals Clubs). Unfortunately I did not get to try the avocado toast since there was no one at the station for the 45 minutes I was in the lounge.
The Avocado Toast Station at the AAdmirals Club Lounge at BNA
While I was in the lounge there were only about 5 other customers the entire time I was there, but that was likely due to the fact that it was early on a Saturday morning and there seemed to only be a few AA hub flights departing within the next couple of hours.
Overall the lounge was one of the smaller ones I have ever been to, but had plenty of seating that would be comfortable and private enough to relax before a flight.
The bar was empty while I visited the lounge but was a good size with plenty of seating, especially considering how small the rest of the lounge was.
Bar at Admirals Club Lounge BNA
Admirals Club Bar BNA
While there was food available, as you can see in the photo below, the selection is EXTREMELY limited. I believe there was only oatmeal, fruit, and bagels available. Judging by the size of the food area in the lounge, I doubt there is ever much more than that even for lunch and dinner as there simply is no where to put anything else. They did have the standard Admirals Club bar menu with food for purchase as well, so there is that option if you are visiting and want more substantial food.
Admirals Club Bar and food area BNA
There was also a small business center with printers and plenty of seating.
Admirals Club Business Center BNA
Admirals Club BNA Seating
Seating area and food area in the lounge
Overall, I found the Admirals Club at BNA to be clean and comfortable although lacking in amenities and food options. This lounge would certainly suffice if you were a lounge pass holder and needed a spot to relax before a flight from BNA or had access via an Flagship Business ticket connecting later in the day, or perhaps have access via OneWorld Sapphire/Emerald as I did. This certainly is not a lounge I would go out of my way to visit or even buy a day pass for unless I was stuck on a long connection or had a cancellation. Let us know if you have visited BNA lately and have any food / drink recommendations in the terminal.
How to get IHG Diamond Status without staying a single night! Hurry, this won’t last!
IHG has an offer for their IHG One rewards club members which offers Diamond Status until the end of 2022. All you need to do is enter your email tied to your IHG account as well as the promo code 70027. IHG Diamond typically requires staying 70+ nights at IHG properties to qualify. You could potentially use this to status match to other programs before the end of the year. Hurry, this wont last long and is a rare promo open to most accounts. Below are some of the perks including potential room upgrades, early check-in, late checkout, and free breakfast at full service properties.
IHG Straight to Diamond. Become a IHG Diamond simply by registering. Go to https://www.ihg.com/rewardsclub/us/en/offers/promoreg/ and enter 70027 as the Promotional Code. You will be IHG Diamond until 12/31/2022. Stay 10+ nights before 12/31/2022 and you can extend the Diamond status until 12/31/2023.
4 Flights, 15 Hours. Why I spent my Saturday flying around the country to earn airline status
Normally I tend to shy away from flying on Southwest Airlines, but with their recent promotion offering a companion pass for booking and flying two flights or one round trip and the fact that I still had Southwest flight credit from a price change on a flight back in March, I decided to spend my Saturday on a status run to secure the companion pass. To earn the Southwest Companion Pass you typically need to fly 100 one way flights or earn 125,000 miles in a year. When you achieve the companion pass, a companion is able to fly with you on any flight for only the taxes and fees of a flight. I will give the companion pass a try in the Winter and decide if it is worthwhile to try to achieve it via credit card sign up bonuses in the future. Since I have had airline status of some form since my first status challenge with American Airlines in 2018 and achieving Platinum status, I have shied away from flying low cost carriers like Southwest and Spirit unless absolutely necessary. But, now that my wife and I had our first child in August, flying Southwest might be a better choice in the near future when traveling domestically, if not just for the checked bags as well as being able to preboard. After picking a day to fly I searched Southwest’s site for the cheapest one way flights as well as a schedule that would make sense. Since Southwest does not operate on the same hub and spoke route system as most airlines, it is actually quite difficult to find same day round trip out of a city like Milwaukee. It also seems Southwest return flights are significantly more expensive when trying to return on a weekend from what you would typically consider a destination city to a city that people would be visiting from, in this case, Milwaukee. After searching and searching and not being able to find a decent routing that would be short and inexpensive, I decided to turn this trip into a two-tiered status run and use a return flight to reach AA Gold Status; which I was only a few Loyalty Points away from obtaining.
I figured my best chances of making this run a success where to leave on one of the first flights of the day which in this case from MKE was to BNA. I also wanted to make sure I was flying somewhere where I would have a few options to get home in the event of a delay or cancelation. I booked the flight from MKE to BNA for around $95 (using credit from a previous flight) and then searched for the least expensive and shortest connection time from BNA, which was a flight to MIA ($90) where I could get a return flight back to Milwaukee using flight credit that I had after receiving EU261 compensation for a cancelled flight from PHL to MKE in April. The total out of pocket cost for this status run which will secure me a Southwest Companion Pass as well as AA Gold, was around $50. Depending on how much I am able to use the companion pass in January and February I will easily be able to get $400-$1000 in value out of that and with AA Gold, I envision being able to get quite a bit of value out of as well once my OneWorld Sapphire status via Royal Air Maroc expires in March.
Is it crazy to book 3 flights with a total of 4 stops in one day to chase status on an airline? Maybe for some people, but I have found that having any status with an airline makes the experience of flying so much better, even as it seems upgrades are harder and harder to come by in 2022. I am writing this as I am on my 3rd of 4 legs, from MIA to PHL before connecting to Milwaukee and so far the day has gone forward as planned and I have not experienced any delays or major issues.
Once my Companion Pass is issued, I already have a few family trips planned where we will be utilizing the pass. I will update as soon as I receive my companion pass and am able to apply it to booked flights for a review of the companion pass.
Travel Review: AA Flagship Lounge at Chicago O’Hare - ORD
One of the best parts of having status with a foreign OneWorld or Star Alliance airline is the ability to access AA and United lounges on domestic flights. From 2020-2022 I had Gold Status on TAP Portugal (as a status match from Delta Gold which was extended a year due to the pandemic) which allowed me access to United Lounges on domestic flights when flying United, which was a great perk, especially when flights were dirt cheap due to the pandemic. There were instances I would pay $100 round trip from New York to Chicago and had lounge access on both flights, which would have otherwise required a $495 per year membership fee or $59 per day to access the lounge.
While United allows access to its United Club lounges, it does not grant access to it Polaris Lounges with Star Alliance status. On the other hand, American allows access to its Flagship Lounges for all One World Sapphire and Emerald status holders. This is a serious perk, considering the Flagship Lounges are typically reserved for Flagship First and Flagship Business passengers. While a day pass to access most Admirals Clubs is $59 per day or $550 - $650 per year depending on your status, day passes are available for Flagship Lounges at a whopping $150 per day per person. Admittedly, the Flagship Lounges offer a significantly elevated experience over the standard Admirals Club particularly when it comes to the food and beverages available.
When I had American Platinum Status from 2018-2021, I was able to access the Flagship Lounges on International itineraries, but I was only ever able to actually check out the Flagship Lounge at JFK several times as most of my international itineraries originated in New York even though I was living in Chicago until 2019. I also had the opportunity to check out the Flagship Lounge at LAX when traveling in Transcon Business after upgrading with miles on a flight. While the Flagship Lounge at ORD has been open since September of 2017, it was one of the last Flagship Lounges to reopen after the pandemic closures and did not reopen until April 21st, 2022 after being closed for 2 years.
I recently had the opportunity to check out the lounge at ORD before a domestic flight taking advantage of my Royal Air Maroc Gold status (achieved via status match in March from My Delta Gold Status) which is One World Sapphire and allows access to Admirals Clubs and Flagship Lounges even on all domestic itineraries. Here are some pictures of my visit as well as my thoughts on the lounge.
Upon entering the lounge, all guests are offered a glass of champagne, which is Piper Heidsieck. I was actually pleasantly surprised by this as I do not recall this ever being offered before and from what I remember, the champagne offered in the self serve bar was usually nothing particularly special. At around $35 a bottle retail, this is actually a pretty solid high quality champagne being offered in the lounge. There is also a self serve wine area with a variety of reds and whites along with bottles of Piper Heidsieck.
The self serve beverage options in the lounge were pretty diverse and even included Red Bull, Fiji water and more. There is also a self serve Coca-Cola Freestyle machine.
The buffet selection featured a solid selection of food choices including sushi (which was actually pretty decent considering it was from an AA Lounge). While most Admirals Clubs have brought back hot food selections, they are still lacking and not usually very good.
On offer were nuts, chocolate covered pretzels, smarties, and skittles.
The seating area between the buffet and the main seating area has outlets with USB ports and offers a great view of the tarmac.
Near the buffet there is a seating area with bench seating and ESPN on TV.
The hot section of the buffet featured several warm items and even included a “local” dish, which in this case was Italian Beef. The hot food was just average, but certainly better than the standard Admirals Club fare.
There was a station with infused water as well as iced tea.
The menu offered a pretty solid variety for many different tastes. Overall I tried several of the items and most were pretty good. Nothing was outstanding, but overall it is a significant upgrade over even the best Admirals Club lounges.
A view of the cold buffet, with sushi, salads, cold cuts, and more. I would say the sushi was what actually stood out. It was actually not bad for airline lounge sushi.
The hot buffet was running low at many times throughout my visit, but the selections where pretty good. I will say they certainly are not what they were pre pandemic and were quite a bit more simple.
One of the highlights of the Flagship Lounge is the self serve premium bar. With many different premium liquors on offer, it is a significant upgrade over the Admirals Club Lounges, where the included beverages are limited and typically are typically several tiers down on quality.
Great view from some of the window seating
In the back of the lounge is a TV area, which at the time I visited was completely empty, whereas the lounge itself as about 2/3 full. This would be a great spot to hang out if you had a long connection.
Overall, the AA Flagship Lounge at ORD is a solid business class lounge which is a significant step up from the Admirals Clubs, especially at ORD. If traveling in International Business Class on American or Iberia out of ORD, or hold OneWorld status, I would certainly pick this over many of the the other lounges at ORD. A day pass to the Admirals Club would be sufficient for someone with a few hours to kill, but if you want to enhance your experience and splurge for the Flagship Lounge daypass, I would certainly make sure I have at least a few hours to spend there to make it worth while. I look forward to making it back to the lounge again several times before my status expires in March and I need to search for my next match!
Using Rakuten to Earn Cash Back on Travel and Everyday Purchases
Sign up for Rakuten via this link and receive $30 cash back on your first purchase of $30 or more via the portal. This offer is $20 more than the standard sign up bonus. This is a limited time deal and is only valid until 9/30/22.
Rakuten has been a favorite of ours for several years and we have earned over $1200 cash back, mostly on hotel bookings through Priceline. Instead of cash back you can also earn AMEX Membership Rewards if you are currently an AMEX card holder which is a great option to help build your rewards balance. There are retailers including clothing, electronics, auto parts, etc with 10% cash back right now as well, so if you were looking to make any online purchases, check to see if your retailer is on Rakutens site.
Why you should ALWAYS book flights directly with airlines
If you take one piece of advise from this blog, please let it be this. ALWAYS book flights directly with airlines whenever possible. When looking for flights, I always search using Google Flights or for one way domestic flights I will sometimes search on Skiplagged, but when it comes to booking, I always book directly with the carrier I plan on flying.
If you book flights via a travel aggregator or 3rd party website, they ultimately become the party responsible for helping you with flight changes, cancellations, and rebooking. In the even you find yourself in a situation where you need to make a change or have any problems, I am sorry to say, I can almost guarantee you will not find a resolution to your problems. There are plenty of horror stories with people cancelling flights booked via a 3rd party and ultimately ending up with a trip credit that is essentially impossible to use. The worst part about this is, even if there is a simple issue such as a seat change or questions on fare rules, etc. the airline will be unable to help with anything and ultimately pass you back to the booking party. With the state of the airline industry in 2022, schedules constantly changing, fully booked flights, and a large amount of cancellations, there are just way too many things that can go wrong when not booking directly with an airline.
I can also say this from personal experience. When traveling to Europe in December, I found an incredible deal on a flight from Chicago to Copenhagen with a return flight from Athens over the holidays. Because SAS does not allow multi city bookings on its website and I was not getting the same price I was seeing over the phone, I was forced to book on Priceline. All was fine with the outbound flight to Copenhagen as well as the flight to Athens. Before leaving for the airport, both my wife and I took COVID tests for our return flight to the US. Well, as luck would have it, both were positive. After making arrangements with the hotel we were staying at to be able to quarantine, I immediately tried calling SAS and after sitting on hold for an hour was told there was nothing they could do to help me reschedule our return and was sent back to Priceline. After 5 back and forth calls and over 5 hours on hold, our flight had already departed and neither SAS or Priceline were able to help us other than to offer a refund of the remaining ticket balance which was around $200. The problem was, it was New Years Eve, there were very limited booking options from Greece back to the US, and one way flights were $3000+ per person. In the end I had to just accept the refund and find a way home. Luckily I was able to find a flight using AAdvantage miles from Paris. If I wouldn’t have had a large quantity of miles with AA, this simple issue would have wound up costing me over $6000. So please, heed my warning, and ALWAYS book directly with airlines.
Earning Frequent Flyer Miles from Dining Out
While the best way to earn airline frequent flyer miles on various airlines is typically through credit card sign up bonuses, spending, and actual spend on any given airline, there are plenty of other ways you can earn miles for free flights (or even airline status) on every day spend.
One of the best ways to earn airline miles without flying or having a co-branded airline credit card is with airline dining programs. All programs are run by the same company, RewardsNetwork and you are only able to link an individual credit or debit card to one account at a time. One of the great things about this program is you simply need to register your card to an account and use it at the restaurant. There is no need to remember coupons, or vouchers, promo codes, or anything like that. There have been times I have earned miles for dining without even knowing that a restaurant participated in a dining program. All of these programs are free and simply link to your frequent flyer profile. When earning AAdvantage miles through dining, they also count towards AAdvantage status, which theoretically could be attained just through the dining program. Sign up for your preferred program today and start earning miles on dining.
American Airlines AAdvantage Dining
Currently has an offer for 1000 bonus miles by spending $25 in your first 30 days.
Basic members earn 1 American Airlines AAdvantage ® mile per $1 spent if you elect to not receive email communication from AAdvantage Dining.. Select members earn 3 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communication from AAdvantage Dining. VIP members earn 5 AAdvantage ® miles per $1 spent if you elect to receive email communication from AAdvantage Dining SM AND have already completed 11 qualified transactions in the calendar year. (Members start earning at the VIP level on their 12th qualified transaction.)
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Dining
Currently has an offer for 1000 bonus miles by spending $25 in your first 30 days.
United Airlines MileagePlus Dining
Currently has an offer for 3000 bonus miles for your first dine.
https://dining.mileageplus.com/
“For a limited time, join MileagePlus Dining SM to earn 3,000 bonus miles doing what you already love doing: enjoying delicious food.
Here’s how it works: Spend $25 or more on your first dine or online order in your first 30 days. Pay your check with your linked credit or debit card. Review your dining experience via the link to the restaurant review in your Account Center or benefit confirmation email. Earn 3,000 bonus miles right out of the gate.”
Dine 11 times at participating restaurants before the end of the year to become a VIP member of MileagePlus Dining℠. As a VIP member: You earn 5 miles for every dollar spent at participating restaurants. Earn at even more restaurants than non-VIP members, with locations exclusively for VIP members. Once you reach VIP status, it carries through the next full calendar year. You have direct access to the VIP Member Services line. Start working toward VIP status today by joining MileagePlus Dining.
Currently has an offer for 3000 bonus miles for your first dine.
Spirit Airlines Free Spirit Dining
Currently has an offer for 1000 bonus miles by spending $30 in your first 30 days and completing an online review.
FoundersCard - Our Favorite Non-Credit Card Travel Tool
One of our favorite non credit card travel tools in our wallet is our FoundersCard.
FoundersCard is a membership program designed for business owners and professionals that provides a wide range of discounts, status, and more on travel, business services, retail, and many other areas. With a price of $595 per year ($495 if you use our referral link FoundersCard) it certainly is not for everyone. If you are a small business owner or are a frequent traveler, you will almost certainly be able to find significant value from the card. A few of the most popular benefits are the card are Hilton Gold status which TPG values at $1255 and Caesars Diamond status which offers some incredible benefits like a $100 annual dinner credit at Caesars properties as well as the opportunity to book 3-5 free nights at the Atlantis in the Bahamas or 2 nights at Caesars Dubai. We recently used out Caesars Diamond status from our FoundersCard benefits to sign up for a status match to Carnival Cruise Lines and ended up receiving an offer a 12 day European cruise in a balcony room paying only taxes of $1,318. The current price to book would have been $4,216, netting almost $2900 in savings. There are plenty of other travel discounts on travel providers that can provide significant value as well.
Some of the small business benefits that can easily help the card pay for itself are $20K in fee free processing from Stripe, as well as discounts on Squarespace, up to 48% off UPS, etc.
If you sign up on our link, you can preview what is included in the membership without committing to a membership. Check it out today to see what you might be able to take advantage of!
FoundersCard if you use our link or referral code FCBRADLEY101, you can save $100 on your membership and get your first year for only $495.
This is not a paid advertisement, but fare game travel can receive referral points if you use our link to sign up for a FoundersCard membership. By using our referral link, it helps us to bring you more valuable content and reviews in the world of travel.
There has never been a better time to book a trip to Europe.
Zierikzee, Netherlands
The travel industry was undoubtably upended during the pandemic. With a new surge in travel demand, especially domestically, rising fuel prices, and inflation, airfare has not been immune to massive price hikes. Flights that routinely would have been $250 round trip pre pandemic can now run $600-$900 or even more. Domestic deals are certainly more difficult to come by than they were in the past.
There is one sweet spot that still exists on fares right now and that is fares from the US to Europe. It is now routinely less expensive to fly from New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles to many destinations in Europe than it is to fly to many popular destinations in the US. With the Euro to Dollar exchange rate near historic lows, at par for the first time in 20 years, a European vacation becomes even more appealing and affordable.
Here are just a few examples of options for a 1 week trip to Europe
There are flights available in the next 6 months from New York City to Europe as low as $225 ROUND TRIP on full service airlines.
Flights available from Chicago to Europe in the next 6 months as low as $362.
An example of flights from LA to Europe in the next 6 months as low as $443 round trip.
With travel restrictions being lifted, no resting requirments on entry to the US, and the Euro near 20 year lows vs the dollar, you should consider making Europe your next travel destination in the next 6 months, because as history has shown in the past all of these factors will not be in alignment forever. Learn how to seach and book these flights here.
How to find the best flight deals for 2022/2023
How to find the best flight deals in 2022
The last few years have certainly been interesting in the airline industry. From being able to score flights for almost nothing March – June of 2020 and consistently low rates on most international routes until March of 2022; inflation, a surge in domestic travel, and continued staffing shortages have led to sky high fares, reduced route availability, and a severe decline in customer service on most airlines.
Luckily, it is still possible to find cheap flights in 2022 utilizing the right tools.
The best way to find cheap flights for several years now has been Google Flights. When it comes to search flexibility, Google Flights has a ton of great features to be able to help you find the flights that best work for your schedule and budget.
The key to finding the absolute best rates on flights has always been flexibility, but in 2022 with extremely high flight prices, this is more important than ever. For example, say you want to go to Europe in the fall of 2022, but have flexibility on dates and destinations, you can use Google Flights to search a range of dates to all of Europe in one simple search. Start your search by entering origin city (if you are flexible on origin, you can also add multiple origin cities) as well as the area you are looking to travel to. For the destination, you can enter a region, a country, a city, state, or even leave destination blank to see all destinations. At this point you will need to put in specific dates, but you will change that on the next page.
Once you initiate the search for specific dates, you can search by month, for a duration of a weekend, one week or 2 weeks by clicking on the calendar in the date field, and then selecting flexible dates.
From here, you can select a time frame of anytime in the next 6 months or search by a specific month. For this example, we will search for a 1 week trip in November of 2022 from Chicago to anywhere in Europe.
This will give you a map of destinations and pricing for different periods of a 1 week trip.
Here you can use the filters to narrow down your search by airlines, number of stops, price, etc.
Filtering for all flights under $550, here is how the results are displayed.
Clicking on a specific city will show dates and airlines for these lowest prices. Clicking on Milan, I can see the dates for these rates are November 5th – November 12th on TAP.
From here you can click on the lowest rate (given it is an acceptable amount of stops and travel time) and be able to select an itinerary.
Here you can use the drop down on the specific flight to get all specific flight details such as layover information, flight times, aircraft, and more.
Once you select the outbound flight that works for you, it will then take you to return options. Sometimes, on international itineraries this will also provide codeshare flights on other airlines for similar prices.
Once selecting the return flight, you will be provided with booking options. Here you will also see a graph on the price history as well as price history of the flight and whether it is a deal, average price, or more expensive than normal. As you can see below, there are several options and prices when it comes to actually booking this flight. It is pretty much the rule among travel experts that booking direct with an airline is ALWAYS the preferred method of booking flights. Booking flights with OTAs (online travel agencies) is never worth the hassle if anything changes with your flight or you have an issue while traveling on the itinerary. There are specific instances where it may not be possible to book direct with the airline, but they are typically few and far between and usually an anomaly. If you click on the link to book with TAP, you will be taken directly to their website to be able to book the itinerary. And that’s it, you have likely found the best deals out there by simply using Google’s flight search function.
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