Well, the 50k bonus miles posted for both of my new Ink Cards, one was even slightly short of the spending requirements! Even after transferring points to United last month for a first class trip to Asia, I’m still at well over 200K Ultimate Rewards points!

Some Data Points

• Credit score – Just shy of 800. Make sure to check your scores before applying.  Get your free TransUnion score from CreditKarma and your free Experian score from Credit Sesame. Don’t forget that you are also entitield to a free credit report each year from the 3 major credit reporting bureaus. You can order your reports at http://www.annualcreditreport.com, which include any recent inquires but do not include credit scores.
• Total number of Chase cards prior – 6
• An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is easy to obtain online from the IRS. Check out this link. Note that you still need to enter your SSN at the bottom of the application so that Chase can check your credit history.
• If you aren’t automatically approved, call the Chase reconsideration line at  1-800-453-9719 for the INK cards and 1-888-245-0625 for personal cards.
• REMEMBER to move your UR points to an account you will be keeping before offering to cancel any of your cards!

Another interesting data point from this churn is that I only received two hard pulls from Chase, even though I applied for the Ink Bold, Ink Plus, and a second Sapphire Preferred.

Chase is currently offering a 50K sign up bonus for both the Ink Plus and the Ink Bold after $5,000 spend within 3 months. The Ink Plus is the credit card edition of the Ink Bold (which is a charge card). Remember, a credit card allows you to pay part of your bill each month while a charge card requires you to pay your balance in full. Why do I love these cards? Ultimate Rewards is one of my favorite currencies. I love the flexibility to transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to United, Hyatt, Marriott, and other partners. The cards are also great for charging my monthly cable/internet and cell phone bills for 5x points as well as 2x points at gas stations and hotels. Both cards also include no foreign exchange fees.

Ultimate Rewards Partners with a 1:1 transfer ratio:

Chase Ink Bold®  Business Card

• Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
• No interest charges because it’s a pay in full charge card
• Earn up to 5X points per dollar on eligible business purchases, and points do not expire
• Transfer points at full value to participating travel programs.
• Direct access to a live service advisor anytime.
• Introductory Offer – First Year Free ($95 thereafter)

Chase Ink Plus®  Business Card 

• Reward yourself with 50,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
• With Ink Plus, you have the cash flow flexibility with the choice to pay over time or pay in full
• Earn 5X points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually at office supply stores, and on cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services
• Earn 2X points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually at gas stations and for hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel
• No foreign transaction fees
• Free employee cards
• 1:1 point transfer to participating travel programs with no transfer fees
• Get 20% off travel redemptions when booked through Ultimate Rewards.

Formerly called Kentucky Fried Chicken, a KFC franchise opened in El Arish, just over Gaza’s southern border, in 2011, and in the West Bank city of Ramallah last year. That, along with ubiquitous television advertisements for KFC and other fast-food favorites, has given Gazans a hankering for Colonel Sanders’s secret recipe. “It’s our right to enjoy that taste the other people all over the world enjoy,” said the entrepreneur, Khalil Efrangi, 31, who started Yamama a few years ago with a fleet of motorbikes ferrying food from Gaza restaurants, the first such delivery service here.

Check out the full article here.

Courtesy NYT

United also today launched a bonus offer through which companies can obtain 1,000 bonus miles for enrolling in the MileagePlus Small Business Network and conducting transactions that earn at least 100 miles. Businesses may use their earned miles to purchase travel awards and upgrades, bid for experiences through the MileagePlus Headliners auction program and shop for merchandise, newspaper and magazine subscriptions and dining awards. Companies can also buy, transfer or gift their miles or donate miles to a MileagePlus charity partner.

Unfortunately, to receive the 1,000 bonus miles you’ll have to earn at least 100 miles with any of the below partners and none of their earning rates are all that spectacular. You’ll also need to earn those 100 miles by August 17, 2013. It’s quite a bit of work (and potential $) for only 1K miles but here are the current partners:

Additionally, this is a separate MileagePlus account and the miles earned will NOT accumulate in your personal MileagePlus account. However, it seems that the ability to transfer fee free to another account (perhaps your personal account) is coming soon!

CVS – East 34th street between 2nd and 3rd. About 40 cards remaining. Self-checkout and the checkout counter DO NOT work for credit cards. You must use the pharmacy checkout. $1000 max per transaction so make sure you remember to consider the $3.95 fee per card. Update – This location has about twenty cards remaining.  Update 2 – 3:30pm EST, no cards remaining here either. Impressive speed from the PMttP readers!

CVS – East 42nd street between 3rd and and Lex. About 30 cards remaining. Self-checkout and regular checkout work. ID required, $1000 max per transaction so make sure you remember to consider the $3.95 fee per card. Update – This location has no cards remaining. 

Live from the CVS on E. 34th…

Related – Witnessing A Vanilla Reload Delivery & Coupons w/ VR Cards!
Related – Vanilla Reload No Credit D-Day Averted
Related – Checkout Experiments in Vanilla Reloads Continued

Please email me availability updates so that I can post for other readers. Thanks!

Now, according to Andrew, his wife Marni already had a previous US Airways card and her new card was automatically enrolled in paperless statements. He switched her back to paper statements the day he received the email in hopes that she too would receive the offer. Andrew reported that three weeks and two days after switching to paper, Marni received the offer as well…but for 1,000 miles!

Like Marni, I already had a previous US Airways MasterCard and it was enrolled for paperless statements which carried over to my new card received in December. I switched back to paper statements on March 11th and have been waiting for my paperless offer. It took much longer than Marni’s! Today, May 16th (just over 2 months after reverting to paper statements), I finally received the offer in the mail…though it’s only for 500 miles. Be Green Warning – For 1,000 US Airways miles, I certainly would have made the switch and sacrificed being green for two months. However, for only 500 miles, you might want to consider the environment. Up to you…

Additionally, Splittin’ Aces on Flyertalk has started a thread on Flyertalk regarding his 500 mile paperless offer and the other offers received as well.

So, without taking into account any of my spending, I’ve earned a whopping 55,500 points from one US Airways MasterCard (40K sign-up, 15K spending bonus, 500 paperless bonus). That’s a pretty incredible sign-up bonus! I plan to cancel the card at the end of this month and apply once more to try and earn the bonuses all over again (I was shockingly turned down in my last app-o-rama for already having the card).

Current sign-up offers (40K first year free is dead)
1) 35K after your first purchase, annual fee waived for the first year, 10K for card renewal. No landing page or promo details (thanks Chester F for the link).
2) 30K after your first purchase, annual fee of $89, up to an additional 10K when you transfer a balance within 90 days (1 mile per $). Full landing page and promo details.
3) Business Card - 25K after your first purchase, up to 10K for balance transfer within the first 30 days (1 mile per $), $79 annual fee. Note this link will also give you the option to select a business card with no annual fee and 5K miles for signing up.

Related - Building Up US Airways Miles for the AA Merger – Time to Take AAdvantage, Full List of Offers!

• KLM Business Class B747-400 JFK – Amsterdam (AMS)
• KLM Crown Lounge AMS & Estonian Air Business CRJ900 Amsterdam (AMS) – Tallinn (TLL)
• Swissôtel Tallinn
• Tour of Tallinn
• Crossing the Frozen Baltic Sea – Ferry from Tallinn – Helsinki / Helsinki – Tallinn
• Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Helsinki
• Walking on Ice – Helsinki
• Tallinn (TLL) – Las Vegas (LAS) – Estonian Air / KLM / Delta

There are two lines that offer services between Tallinn and Helsinki, Tallink Silja Line with 7 sailings a day and Viking Line with 14 sailings a week. The Viking boats are scheduled for 2 hours and 30 minutes while most of the Tallink shuttle boats run at just over 2 hours. Pricing is slightly more for the Tallink crossings though it all depends on when you buy your tickets. Both lines offer online ticketing.

I arrived for my Tallink ship about 15 minutes before the departure time and it was complete chaos in the terminal. Finns come over to Estonia to buy alcohol and other goods (though mostly alcohol) that are sold much cheaper than in Finland. There were literally hundreds of Finns with tons of alcohol waiting to pickup up their tickets and board the ship. We are talking crates of wine, vodka, and multiple 36 packs of beer. It was like they all went shopping at Costco. Anyway, the automated ticket machines stop printing boarding passes 30 minutes prior to the ship and I had to get in line with the crowd. It was evident that there was no way I was going to make the boat and I jumped in a taxi to head to the Viking Line instead. The Viking Line had a ferry scheduled for 15 minutes later and was located at a terminal about 10 minutes away. The last minute ticket price was EUR 31.00.

The crossing begins with moving water for the first 10-12 minutes, but quickly turns into broken ice once the boat leaves the harbor. It was quite extraordinary to see the boat crushing through the ice…and this was nothing compared to our docking in Helsinki and later return to Tallinn. At points during the journey you could actually feel the boat struggling to break through the thicker ice and the whole ship would vibrate on impact!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The ship with Tallinn in the distance…

Now, the number one activity on board is drinking. EVERYONE regardless of age, 15 to 85, are partaking in their newly purchased and brought on-board refreshments. However, there are some other activities on the ship as well…

There are several lounges with free wifi, though it’s very very slow…

A coffee shop…

Smoking rooms…

Slot machines…

A cafeteria…

A disco…

Jager Shots!

Shopping…

Docking in Helsinki was an unreal experience. The entire dock was iced over and the ship carefully maneuvered into place…

On the return I took the Superstar by Tallink Silja Line which saved us approximately 30 minutes on the crossing. One of the coolest things in daylight was seeing the vast sea of ice from a different perspective. At some points, it literally looked like the ice went on forever and it created one seamless sheet of “ice foam” as far as the eye could see. Check out the video below…

Click here to view the embedded video.

It might not sound like the most desirable trip, but if you have the opportunity to sail through the Baltic Sea in the middle of winter it’s awesome. Definitely choose it over the short-hop flight from Tallinn to Helsinki.

Up next, my weekend in Helsinki…

Related – On the other hand, see today’s other cruise related article from the AP – Cruises get good buzz from new ships, overhauls

• Discount is off the total cost of the fare (including taxes, fees, and carrier charges).
• Choose from any of British Airways 300+ destinations.
• Travel in any cabin — World Traveller, World Traveller Plus, Club World or First.
• Book up to eight friends and family members travelling on the same flight.

T&Cs
Valid only for new bookings made by US residents paying in USD with a valid British Airways Visa Signature card issued by Chase, for travel commencing from the US to London and beyond. Cardholder must travel to qualify for the 10% discount. To take part in this promotion, eligible participants must log in at www.ba.com/Chase10, make a roundtrip booking between December 11, 2012 and December 31, 2013, and enter the promotion code provided in this offer into the marked box on the Price Quote page of the booking process. Offer is non-transferable and cannot be combined with any other offer. Outbound travel must commence by December 31, 2013. 10% discount will appear on the final payment page. Discount is valid on the total roundtrip purchase price, including taxes, fees and carrier charges, on mainline flights operated by British Airways. Discount is not valid for flights on code share or franchise carriers. 10% discount on British Airways flights is valid for flight purchase only and does not apply to excess baggage fees, seat assignment fees, purchasing Avios for rewards or rewards fees. Roundtrip open jaw bookings are eligible for only one discount. Example of open jaw booking: outbound JFK to LON and return PAR to JFK. All rules of purchased fare apply, including advance purchase, minimum stay, weekend-add-ons, and cancellation/refund rules. Other travel related restrictions may apply. Valid only for new bookings made by US residents paying in USD with a valid British Airways Visa card issued by Chase, for travel commencing from the US to London and beyond. Cardholder must travel to qualify for the 10% discount. Discount applies for up to eight passengers booked on the same British Airways flight. Refunds from previously purchased fare types not permitted. In the event of program fraud or abuse, British Airways may withdraw this promotion.

Chase British Airways Visa Signature® Card

The 100,000 British Airways card offer may be over but the current 50k offerhas a much simpler spending requirement of only $1000 within three months. Why should you take advantage of this offer if you live in the US and you know of BA’s ridiculous fuel surcharges? I recently went to Barbados round-trip on American for only $47.50 in taxes and 12,500 Avios points each way (instead of 17,500 AA miles).  BA offers amazing redemption opportunities on short-haul flights and points can be used for cheap awards on American Airlines award redemptions within North America, the Caribbean, and Hawaii. There are even some good long-haul opportunities that avoid the outrageous taxes and fees that BA has become known for.  Check out this post for the short haul opportunitiesand this post with the long haul opportunities. Also, remember that BA allows household accounts where up to 7 members residing at the same address can combine and pool their points together. There is a $95 annual fee for the card that is not waived for the first year.

• You will get 50,000 bonus Avios after you make $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
• Plus pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel abroad
• You will also get 2.5 Avios for every $1 spent on British Airways purchases and 1.25 Avios for every $1 spent on all other purchases
• Every calendar year you make $30,000 in purchases on your British Airways Visa card, you’ll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years
• Chip with Signature Technology allows you to use your card for chip based purchases in Europe & beyond, while still giving you the ability to use your card as you do today at home

Why my first ever JetBlue flight? Well, I’m addicted to points and with elite status on all three airlines, I’ve never wanted to give up the chance at an upgrade or the opportunity to bump up the balance in one of my frequent flier accounts. To me, a first class seat on one of my preferred carriers (even without a TV) always seemed more appealing than a JetBlue flight.

I was in Colorado Springs since last Friday for the Boarding Area BAcon conference but hadn’t booked my flights until just a few days prior. I found a great fare on United for the outbound from LGA-DEN, but the return flights were all very costly…except on JetBlue where I was able to snag a fare for under $100 on the red-eye flight into JFK. Additionally, I was excited about the JetBlue new member promo, where new members (or members with new email addresses) receive 7,500 TrueBlue points after taking their first flight by June 19th. This flight would qualify me for the promotion and so everything just seemed to fall into place. Especially since JetBlue one-way awards start at only 5,000 TrueBlue points and $2.50 in taxes and fees.

What I liked

1) The captain comes out of the flight deck to welcome everyone and to make his initial announcement.

2) Free snacks -  I didn’t know the JetBlue etiquette but everyone around me seemed to be taking two different snacks, I followed their lead. I also learned that popped corn chips are very tasty.

3) Snooze kits are provided complimentary to all passengers. Granted it’s just ear plugs and an eye mask, but still a nice touch.

4) Upon landing the JetBlue mobile app provides a welcome message and your baggage claim number, very handy if you check bags.

5) Seeing the TWA Flight Center upon exiting T5. Related, see my tour inside the TWA Flight Center here.

6) JetBlue has so many partners at JFK that it takes two screens to list them all…

What I Didn’t Like

1) I had an aisle seat in row 8. The plane was boarded from back to front which meant I was one of the last ones on. Luckily, I was also one of the only people with a carry-on. I missed my legacy priority boarding status.

2) The flight attendants were fine but didn’t seem overly happy to be on-board, though I guess who is at that time of night. They also kept their sanitary gloves on at all times even when not serving. Additionally, our A320 felt a bit tired and maybe a little dirty even.

3) No wifi. The DIRECTV service was nice, but the screen was small at 6.8 inches. I’ve recently had very good luck having new TVs on domestic legs on Delta and United. Unfortunately, this is something that won’t set JetBlue apart forever. Most of the legacies are in the process (or have a plan) for bringing in-flight entertainment to their fleets, though this will of course take the better part of a decade. All new American deliveries will also have built-in in-flight entertainment systems.

Overall, it was a direct flight, at a great price, booked last minute, which qualified me for an excellent new member promotion. I enjoyed my experience, though I don’t know that I’d choose JetBlue over receiving a potential upgrade or legacy miles in the future (with price constant across all carriers).

Are you a JetBlue loyalist? What are your thoughts?