Best of November: new signups, bad devaluations, #statusgate, great CC offers and more

I hope that you’ve enjoyed the past month of travel information – November was a great and busy month, and here’s a recap of what you may have missed from Points With a Crew

As always, if you’ve enjoyed some of these posts, you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or sign up for our our once-daily email

Featured stories

One of the best ways to get a lot of points quickly is by way of credit card signups – this is where you might sign up for multiple credit cards at the same time

This week I planned a November 2015 credit card signup and then got the results: 140,000 points + $200 statement credit

Many of my cards were instantly approved, but a few were marked as pending, but later one was approved without my having to do anything – Not calling the reconsideration line works again!  But then I got something in the mail – so maybe I WILL have to call on my Chase Business card.

On a related note, readers chimed in on when we’ve been most embarrassed about having tons of credit cards?

American Airlines announced a devaluation of their AADvantage program in November

Here are the Top 5 worst American Airlines award chart devaluations

It’s not quite as bad as it could have been, but it’s still not great

As you probably already know, many people were just being comped to instant Hyatt Diamond status.

While (I think?) the opportunity is now over, it didn’t stop me from listing the 7 places I’m going with my new Hyatt Diamond status

Unfortunately, I didn’t get my Hyatt Diamond status 🙁 – though I have a message for Hyatt Diamond whiners.

This week Hilton got into the game as well – you may be able to match to Hilton (Diamond?) status as well!  I just got my match to Hilton Diamond!

In other status match news, Alaska Airlines is now only matching the Southwest Companion Pass to their mid-tier MVP Gold status

There are also some pretty good credit card offers available in November

First was the Chase Sapphire card, with a signup bonus up to 50,000 points (my affiliate link)

Chase Freedom also has an increased signup bonus to 15,000 points, AND 10% bonus at select stores this quarter

Of course, you can always get 1 million points on a new card (with $1,000,000 spend)

If you’re applying for a Chase Sapphire or Freedom card, you’ll want to be aware of the Chase 5/24 rule – beware!

Here are the rest of November’s stories:

Family Travel

• My son and I traveled in November to Arizona, California and Nevada.  Most of the reason was to visit new counties

County progress

• We also stopped by the Anthem Veteran’s Memorial on Veteran’s Day and watched the 5 ellipses line up perfectly at 11:11 a.m. on 11/11.

• Air travel with children can be stressful – we have people giving out “goodie bags” to fellow passengers. On the other hand we have people telling other passengers that they’re “the type of parent that should not have children”.  The latest news came when a mom asked (after getting a few “stares”) – Is early boarding with children rude?
• Everything’s better in …. MONACO!  A review of my day there on my recent European trip
• Speaking of that European trip, I am STILL trying to fight with Aer Lingus and/or British Airways to get my EU261 / 2004 compensation (I should be due $1200 for my canceled flight)

Miles, Points and Credit Cards

• It’s not too late to get in on some of the cheap fall one way car rentals – we booked one for our recent trip for $7.99 / day .  But what’s better than CHEAP one-way car rentals? FREE one-way car rentals!
• You can also still get 2 free Uber rides from LaGuardia airport in New York and new Uber users can get a free $30 ride courtesy of Chase.
• Should we as consumers do anything when merchants violate their credit card agreement?
• I almost got burned by not knowing this 1 trick when booking with Hertz Gold Plus Rewards 
• Marriott buying Starwood: 3 things we know, plus the Marriott CEO with a video

• There are some new restrictions on who you can transfer Chase Ultimate rewards to
• You can now use your Alaska Airlines miles to fly on Icelandair
• I got a targeted offer for 5000 points after my FIRST purchase on a card I’d previously sock drawered
• There are no purchase fees on American Express gift cards through 12/31
• My IHG Accelerate points have (finally!) posted – have yours?
• The complete Citi Dividend Categories 2016 calendar is out – here’s how you can maximize your cashback

News and Notes

• Hard to believe that Election Day was only a month away – here was a recap on San Francisco Prop F (the airbnb law) – it was voted down pretty handily.
• Clothes to stop pick pockets, AAdvantage devaluation rumors, screaming babies, pick pockets
• 1300 free Flexperks, buying $20K (and more!) in gift cards, and a cheaper way to get Global Entry
• An 8 year old boy sent Delta a new way to track missing planes (picture below)

Image from the Consumerist

• The 5 worst tips to get upgraded (#4 is my favorite), avoiding hotel shuttle ripoffs, and eliminating bereavement fees
• Avis was in the news as a customer claimed discrimination.   Originally Avis denied anything, but later reports indicated that it was Avis that was in the wrong.
• The worst kind of traveler, tracking special airline liveries, 31 SPG points / $ and more

Still up for more travel news?  Here are the top stories from October: Best of October: eBay weirdness, Point Breaks Map, park #fail, and 62 airports with cheap award tickets

Newsletter Signup

Join the PWaC newsletter filled with credit card and travel tips

Join Now!

You have Successfully Subscribed!