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      04-08-2008, 01:50 AM   #1
Ant
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Credit Card / Miles for ED trip?

Hello,

I plan on doing an ED for a 135i next summer or late next year. I have never left the country before and it didn't occur to me until just recently that I should be using a credit card that gets me miles.

So this is directed to you ED guys, or to anyone who's traveled abroad using their airline miles...

First, what can I realistically expect to get using airline miles? Looking at some flights on Expedia, I see some roundtrip flights to Europe going for around $800 in coach. How many miles would I need to get this for free? Also, do airlines have structured deals that would allow me to trade in miles for upgrades to business or first class? If so, how many miles am I looking at?

Also, any recommendations on credit cards and airlines would be greatly appreciated. As for what I'm looking for, airline-wise, I guess it's safe to say that flying first class on Virgin or British Airways (~$20K) is out of my reach, but of course I'd like to fly as comfortably as possible. Also, looking at my expenses, I can easily make around $15K in purchases over the next 12-16 months on a card that gets me miles. I've seen cards advertise anywhere between 15K-25K miles if I open an account and make a modest amount of purchases within the first couple of months. Think any of these would be good for me?

Thanks in advance!

--Tony
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      04-08-2008, 06:54 AM   #2
atr_hugo
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I know some guys will chime in - but here's a wonderful resource for all things ED (and I may get my hand smacked for pointing this out ; -): http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25
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      04-08-2008, 01:26 PM   #3
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Lufthansa non-stop to Munich or frankfurt

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ant View Post
Hello,

I plan on doing an ED for a 135i next summer or late next year. I have never left the country before and it didn't occur to me until just recently that I should be using a credit card that gets me miles.

So this is directed to you ED guys, or to anyone who's traveled abroad using their airline miles...

First, what can I realistically expect to get using airline miles? Looking at some flights on Expedia, I see some roundtrip flights to Europe going for around $800 in coach. How many miles would I need to get this for free? Also, do airlines have structured deals that would allow me to trade in miles for upgrades to business or first class? If so, how many miles am I looking at?

Also, any recommendations on credit cards and airlines would be greatly appreciated. As for what I'm looking for, airline-wise, I guess it's safe to say that flying first class on Virgin or British Airways (~$20K) is out of my reach, but of course I'd like to fly as comfortably as possible. Also, looking at my expenses, I can easily make around $15K in purchases over the next 12-16 months on a card that gets me miles. I've seen cards advertise anywhere between 15K-25K miles if I open an account and make a modest amount of purchases within the first couple of months. Think any of these would be good for me?

Thanks in advance!

--Tony
Just no doubt about it. Lufthansa (LH) is a great airline. The Frankfurt flight is about an hour quicker, since it's a 747, but Munich is a more pleasant airport and closer to where you want to go, I believe. I've flown between Stockholm and LA via Munich or Frankfurt on Lufthansa several times.

Basically, any European airline is superior in every way to any U.S. airline.

LH is a member of the Star Alliance, and you can get upgrades on its flights with United miles, but you can't upgrade on the cheapest fairs. Upgrades will cost about 30,000 miles each way.

In summer, coach fares go up (more tourists) and business class fairs actually go down (less business travel). Air France goes as low as about USD 3,000 round-trip between Europe and LA in late July. Meanwhile, you're probably talking USD 1400-1600 for coach. Air France/Delta partners with AMEX for miles.

Check out an online aggregator like Kayak for fares.
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      04-27-2008, 02:40 PM   #4
ez311
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ant View Post
Hello,

I plan on doing an ED for a 135i next summer or late next year. I have never left the country before and it didn't occur to me until just recently that I should be using a credit card that gets me miles.

So this is directed to you ED guys, or to anyone who's traveled abroad using their airline miles...

First, what can I realistically expect to get using airline miles? Looking at some flights on Expedia, I see some roundtrip flights to Europe going for around $800 in coach. How many miles would I need to get this for free? Also, do airlines have structured deals that would allow me to trade in miles for upgrades to business or first class? If so, how many miles am I looking at?

Also, any recommendations on credit cards and airlines would be greatly appreciated. As for what I'm looking for, airline-wise, I guess it's safe to say that flying first class on Virgin or British Airways (~$20K) is out of my reach, but of course I'd like to fly as comfortably as possible. Also, looking at my expenses, I can easily make around $15K in purchases over the next 12-16 months on a card that gets me miles. I've seen cards advertise anywhere between 15K-25K miles if I open an account and make a modest amount of purchases within the first couple of months. Think any of these would be good for me?

Thanks in advance!

--Tony
I took a two week trip to Europe earlier this month and used miles for a free ticket and about 1/2 the hotel stays.

I rack up some airline miles from work travel, but not too much. Most of my airline miles / hotel points are from credit card spend. It really racks up quickly with the sign up bonuses and if you pay your normal bills with a credit card. It also simplifies bill paying since the majority of my bills are on two credit cards.

About 2 years ago I signed up for a Chase United Visa and got 25,000 points as a signup bonus. There are numerous ways to get free miles, like signing up for Netflix, etc. I've only flown United once, but within a year I was able to reach 50,000 miles. Enough for a round trip ticket on Lufthansa (a Star Alliance partner). I had to pay the taxes, which was less than $100. Not bad since they ticket would have cost $1000 withour using the miles.

Another great credit card (and my favorite) is the Starwood American Express. You get 10,000 starpoints for signing up. This card has by far has the best rewards program. You can combine cash and point for really good deals on high end hotels. Unfortunately Starwood recently increased the number of points required for many hotels in Germany, but I booked before the increase so I got a great deal. The first two nights I stayed in Frankfurt at a Sheraton. Because of a large convention going on, hotels were very expensive (the Sheraton was 300 euros/night), but I was able to use 3,000 points per night which is very little. You get 1 point per dollar spent, so 3,000 points is only a few months of spend.

Many credit cards offer 1% cash back, etc. That's OK, but if you do it right you can work the system and get much more. In the above example, it works out to over 6% back.

PM me if you have any more questions. Racking up "free" points has become a smal hobby of mime.

Eric
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      05-02-2008, 01:24 PM   #5
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the american express business card is giving you 25,000 pts on your first 1000 in purchases. this is supposed to be good for a round trip domestic flight. Maybe throw in a little more and take the ED trip.
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