One of the big questions surrounding the merger between United and Continental was whether or not the merged carrier would adopt the Economy Plus seating that United has been featuring. United has basically added 5 inches of legroom to the first few rows of economy. Continental did not. This week, they announced that Continental will indeed add an Economy Plus section to their planes, starting next year. As is usual at United, the migration will happen at a snails pace, years into the future. United is still replacing their business and first classes that they announced years ago. In this way, they get all the benefits of marketing, with none of the cost of actually refurbishing their airplanes. To this day, it is a crap shoot when you book a ticket on United as to whether or not you will receive a competitive premium product, or something more suited to the 80s.
What I Don’t Like About Economy Plus
At first, they merely allowed their Premiers to sit in E+. Later, they started selling it at the time of purchase, check in, and even at the gate. Harsh warnings were introduced that anyone caught sitting in an otherwise vacant E+ seat without having paid for it would be ejected from the cabin while in flight, and possibly ingested by the jet engine. This just added another layer confusion, confrontation, and upsell that United fliers were forced to endure. By restricting unpaid access to empty seats, United effectively created a 3 class domestic cabin with a 4 class international one. The only difference between E+ and E- was the extra 5 inches of legroom. Frankly, 5 inches is a lot. It is almost possible to exit your seat with the tray table down, and E+ sometimes seems lengthier than even an exit row. At the same time, the E- seats remain as cramped as ever, with a 31 inch pitch.
Call me a commie bastard, but I prefer Southwest’s arrangement with a more reasonable 33″ pitch for everyone. I like extra legroom, but I don’t like the confusion, upsell, and threats that accompany the whole E+ equation. The entire philosophy of United seems to be the monitization of even the most trivial perks. They actually sell priority boarding by itself. This goes over as well for me as it would if a restaurant started charging for silverware, tap water, or napkins.
So congratulations to all the United and Continental elites who have been depending on E+ to avoid the scourge of E-. I don’t fault you for liking it, but United will have change a lot more to win back my business.
Just don’t expect Continental to finish converting their all of their aircraft before a manned mission to occurs.
The U.S. Bank FlexPerks Cash Rewards Visa allows cardholders to earn cash rewards for their purchases. We’ll take a further look at this card and determine who this card may be for.
How to Earn Cash Rewards
Cardholders earn 3% cash back on all gas purchases for the first 90 days and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Points do not expire and there is not limit to the amount that can be earned. Cardholders also earn points by using their card at the U.S. Bank Shopping Mall which provides exclusive savings and discounts from hundreds of merchants.
How to Redeem Rewards
Cash back rewards can be redeemed in $5 increments with a minimum redemption of $20. As soon as your rewards have reached $20 you can redeem them as a deposit directly into your U.S. Bank checking, savings or money market account, or as a U.S. Bank Rewards Card or statement credit.
Other Benefits
Other benefits of the U.S. Bank Flex Perks Cash Rewards Visa include Fraud Protection and Extended Warranty Coverage.
Fees
There is no annual fee for the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Cash Rewards Visa and an introductory APR of 0% on balance transfers for the first 6 months. The APR for purchases can range from 13.99% to 23.99%.
Verdict
If you’re looking for a card with a 0% balance transfer APR and no annual fee as well as a flat cash back rate, this card may be for you. It seems pretty straightforward regarding earning points that are unlimited and don’t expire. You will also earn the 3% gas cash back but only for the first three billing cycles of card ownership. After that, all purchases receive a flat 1% cash back reward. Cardholders that are interested in earning miles or a significant amount of cash back for specific types of purchases may want to look into one of the better rewards cards.
According to the New York Post, a limo driver just plead guilty to stealing $800,000 from a Hong Kong business man who left his credit card in the back of his limo. Amazingly, the victim of the theft did not notice the charge! He only found out about it when his bank’s security team notified him. It is not clear from the article when he was notified relative to when the charge was placed. I could see not “noticing” a charge until I received my statement, as I rarely check my balances online.
Can You Charge $800,000 On A Credit Card?
There is the occasional credit card that does have a limit that will allow you to charge that much. Such credit cards are not marketed towards the general public, but are offered to various individuals with whom a company has a banking relationship. What could you charge that would cost $800,000? Well, private jet companies offer prepaid services that can easily cost that much. I suppose you could charge all sorts of jewelry or vehicles for a fraction of that price, and then order a few of them. Then again, the article doesn’t specify if there was a single charge or multiple charges.
What Is The Lesson For The Rest Of Us
Yes, I am likely to notice lots of large charges, but what about a few small ones? For those of us who use our credit card as a method of payment, we make a large quantity of small charges. Smarter thieves know this and will try to charge a few smaller items first in order to evade detection. Later they will gradually increase their purchases in the hopes that the victim doesn’t know. Really, it is the bank that will be the victim as the cardholder will not be responsible for any fraudulent charges reported. The key is in the reporting. If you don’t report the charge as fraudulent, you probably won’t get lucky and have the bank notify you of the suspicious charges. Ultimately, it is up to you read through your statement and identify any potentially fraudulent charges.
So What’s The Problem?
The problem with reading through statements is that the charges are often listed in names that do not correspond with what the merchant may be doing business as. It is very easy to flag legit charges when the credit card processor lists an unfamiliar merchant name. Worse, a merchant that is complicit in fraud will try to choose a very generic sounding name that does not raise any flags.
The good news is that once you find a fraudulent charge, you should be able to more thoroughly examine your statements to find any others. Credit card fraud can happen, but any reasonably careful cardholder will never loose a cent.
I am not like most people. I have never paid credit card interest. I always pay my balances on time and in full. I focus on cards that give me the best rewards per dollar spent, and then I devote as much spending to my credit cards as I can. This tactic would be an insane one for anyone who ever carries a balance. If you are one of those people, you should only be concerned with getting a card with the lowest interest rate and the fewest fees.
Go With The Pentagon Federal Credit Union
The Visa Platinum Promise Visa Card from PenFed offers an outstanding interest 7.49% APR for 36 months. After that period it goes up modestly to a current rate of 9.99%. At the moment they will even accept balance transfers with no fees and a 4.99% APR. Beyond its competitive interest rates, they offer no late fees, penalty fees or foreign transaction fees. If I had a friend who was trying to retire his or her credit card debt, this would be card I would recommend. There is no annual fee either, but you may have to pay $15 initially to join a group like America’s Voice For Troops if you or a someone in your household is not a member of a multitude of eligible organizations.
For people who have been carrying a balance on their credit cards, paying it off can be almost as difficult as it is for smokers to quit. The long term benefits are lost by the short term gratification. Here is a card offered not by a bank, but by a credit union. This is not just any credit union, this is one that was federally chartered to serve the members of our armed forces, even as it is open to anyone who makes a small, one time, charitable donation.
President Obama has, in the past, spoken about the need for a plain vanilla card that is free from all sorts of gimmicks, tricks, and traps. Such a card exists. If you owe a balance on your credit cards, you need to seriously consider a balance transfer to one of their cards. With low interest rates and no fees, this is your fastest way out of debt.
I am a bit biased, as I used to work for Boeing, but I do have a thing for their airplanes. Just about anyone who loves Boeings thinks that their most beautiful aircraft is the iconic 747. While the 747 has undergone a major revision since it’s introduction over 40 years ago, Boeing just rolled out the second major redo of its queen of the skies. To the surprise of the world, it featured a striking orange paint job.
What’s New
Those of you who follow aviation just a little, know that the next Boeing passenger plane to enter service will be the twin engine 787. The 787 is a revolutionary design made almost entirely of carbon fiber. It features two, highly efficient, next generation engines. The 747 features four of these same engines. The 747 also shares the new “Sky Interior” that is being seen on newer 737s. The new 747 features a new wing and is over 18 feet longer than the existing model.
What Will It Take To Get You Into One Of These?
Sadly, the passenger version of new 747 has not sold nearly as well as previous versions. The cargo version, which is already in the air, has sold moderately well, but there has only been two airlines that have committed to the passenger version, the 747-8 Intercontinental. Those airlines are Lufthansa and Korean who have ordered 20 and 5 aircraft respectively. Interestingly, eight aircraft have been ordered in VIP configuration for the use of heads of state and other billionaires. It must be nice.
Why hasn’t Boeing sold more of these? Certainly, they are competing with the all new, Airbus A380 which is significantly larger. The 747-8i has the advantage of commonality with existing passenger and cargo fleets, yet the Airbus has captured most of the market above 400 seats leaving Boeing with the only aircraft in the 4-500 seat market. Many analysts believe that the 747’s greatest competition is the existing Boeing 777-300ER. It offers comparable range, great cargo capacity, and it seats just under 400. The aircraft does this with only two engines and is available today.
The days are gone when you could look out among the gates at JFK, Heathrow, or Narita and see virtually nothing but 747s. Time will tell if more airlines come around and choose the 747-8i, but for airplane buffs like me, nothing would delight us more than seeing the queen of the skies grace airports around the globe for one more generation.
Instead of receiving gift cards or merchandise with your points, you also have the option of receiving cash. While gift cards are great, in todays economy, depending on your situation, cash can be better. Recently I had well over 40,000 in Ultimate Rewards points on my Chase Freedom card. I did a mixture of gift cards for Christmas gifts and cash to pay bills. I felt that was a good balance. A lot of people tend to go for the cash, however, at the time that I traded my points in, they were offering a discount on cards again, and some of them were ones that I knew my daughter would love for Christmas.
If you choose the option of receiving cash, you will receive a check written out to the name appearing in the shipping information field. Ultimate Rewards allows you to start cashing out your points at low amounts shown below at only $20.
For each $.01 you spend, you earn 1 point. While that may sound low, it definitely adds up. Like I stated above, I had well over 40,000 points. Most of those points were earned for items I bought for my house projects. See how easy they accumulate? Why not be rewarded for what you spend.
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is easily the busiest airport in the world when measured by passenger traffic. Southerners and even some Atlantans curse the place due to its size. It is often said that when you die, you still have to change planes in Atlanta in order to get to heaven.
Nevertheless, I remain a big fan of the place. I was a child living in Atlanta when it opened in 1980 and I never missed the chance to visit it when a friend or relative was flying in. Every politician even remotely connected with the mammoth undertaking never misses an opportunity to mention that it was completed on time and under budget. At that time, it was a mere three runways served by four and a half concourses of about 35 gates each. Today, it boasts five parallel runways that are in use simultaneously and a whopping 186 gates spread across six concourses. Next year, they will inaugurate a new international terminal and concourse that will increase the total number of gates at the airport to over 200!
Hartsfield Today
It is just amazing how many people pass through the airport every day. The concourses are almost never quiet, as they more closely resemble a crowded New York street than a typical airport. When looking over the arriving and departing flight information, I am always amazed to see cities that I have never even heard of. When you consider the remarkable connection opportunities, you begin to realize why the Atlanta airport is so busy. Where else could you transfer from Muscle Shoals, Alabama to Moscow or from New Bern, North Carolina to Johannesburg?
What Makes It Great
It is simply a great design. Long before 9/11, the visionary designers of Hartsfield made each concourse accessible through a single security checkpoint. Since there was no way that anyone could transit between more than a few dozen gates without walking over a mile, the airport was one of the first to have an automated people mover. This is basically a train that works without a conductor. While passengers at other airports may twiddle their thumbs waiting for a train, Hartsfield passengers see a screen counting down the seconds until the next train arrives. This amazing system rarely makes passengers wait more than 90 seconds between trains. At each concourse, the airport has plenty of restaurants and shopping, so that once you reach your concourse you rarely have to go elsewhere.
Another great feature of the airport is a train station inside the terminal that whisks passengers to downtown Atlanta and points beyond. A second train system takes people to a consolidated rental car center. This is probably a pain in the but for some people, but it relieves a lot of the congestion around the terminals by eliminating fleets of rental car shuttles.
What Is Wrong With Hartsfield
Everything there does not work as perfectly as it did on my last visit. Throw in a thunderstorm or even a hint of ice or snow and the place grinds to a halt. At that point, the massive crowds of people become an extreme liability along with the airline’s continued inability to manage these eventualities. While a wise traveler would use the train system evacuate the premises and find a hotel downtown, the masses end up camping out at the gates.
Another issue is that arriving international passengers clear customs at the furthest concourse, and are forced to recheck bags back to the terminal. Worse, you have to re-clear security when you arrive, even if Atlanta is your final destination. The new international terminal that is opening next year will fix this inherent problem with the current arrangement. Furthermore, with a second terminal, the original terminal will see fewer crowds. An entire South Gate complex is planned for the future that will feature 70 gates which will further reduce the chances that your aircraft will have to sit on the tarmac awaiting a gate. Currently, that happens rather often.
Conclusions
It is impossible to have an airport that services hundreds of non-stop destinations without it existing on the scale of Hartsfield. Most airports that approach the size of Hartsfield have grown organically, spreading across many terminals that cannot be accessed from each other without leaving security and taking a bus. These airports include JFK, LAX, Heathrow and so many others. Hartsfield’s arrangement is the best solution that I have seen for the problem of how to have an airport with 200 gates arranged so that you can get from any one gate to any other in about 15 minutes. In the past 30 years, the airport has transformed the city from a regional backwater to a major international hub.
I have not been easy on Delta. Their online award redemption system has been broken for some time, even as their IT team rolls out innovative new features like their bid for bumps and first class up programs. All their IT work is going towards revenue enhancement, with nothing to satisfy their frequent travelers who, god forbid, might want to redeem a plausible amount of miles for an award ticket. The result has been the frequent flier community ridiculing their program’s devaluation by referring to their declining currency as SkyPesos.
Surprise!
So imagine my surprise last Friday when I took a look at redeeming an award ticket from Denver to Atlanta for the weekend. I found not one, but two tickets in the “low” category that matched my itinerary. I snagged one with my remaining SkyMiles balance and a second with my Hawaiian Airlines miles. I have never flown Hawaiian or even been to Hawaii, I got those miles in one of my first churning efforts when years ago my wife and I got their credit card merely for the miles. Hawaiian is one of the few airlines that allows family members to move miles between accounts free of charge, so we had 25,000 miles between us to make this work.
Nothing On Delta Is Ever That Easy
So after coming through for me in terms of a last minute redemption, I knew this was still Delta, and I was not out of the woods yet. I had to call them to get seat assignments together for myself and my three year old daughter traveling on separate tickets. My first attempt ended with them putting me on hold for 10 minutes before disconnecting me.
Attempt number two was astonishing. I explained that I was traveling with my three year old daughter and that we had to sit together. Lets just say the representative I spoke to was not someone who I would ever want to have to rely on to solve problems. First she told me that the plane was nearly full and that there not two seats together. She suggested that I worry about it later and I could probably get someone to switch seats. I explained to her that I was aware that Delta did not assign all seats in advance, and that there were some seats that are assigned later for reasons such as this. She said that there was nothing she could do, so I asked her to transfer me to someone who could help. According to her, there was NO ONE who could assign those seats. “Wow, NO ONE?” I repeated in my most sarcastic tone.
I then had to explain to her that it would probably be considered child abuse to tell my three year old that she has to sit with strangers for the 4 hour flight, and asked her again what she thinks I should do.
It was at that point that she may have realized that I wasn’t just going to hang up and go away. I wasn’t going to accept her laughable explanation that there is no one in the world who can assign us seats together. I actually expected her to contact someone who would help me. What a crazy customer I turned out to be.
After putting me on hold, I am sure she was shocked to learn that indeed there was someone at Delta who could assure that a three year old and her father would not be sitting on opposite ends of the airplane. Surprises never cease.
Throughout the entire experience, she was friendly, but that is not the same thing as being helpful. This is why Delta is now sending it’s agents to charm school. This was an unexpected, last minute trip, so there was not way to know how prescient these words would be when I wrote them just a few days earlier:
The part I liked best about what I read was “Lessons boil down to finding ways to assist customers rather than shunt them aside…”. That is my biggest complaint with most airlines, that they are just trying to tell you anything to make you go away.
Someone at Delta learned last Friday that I will not just go away.
I can still remember all the CARD Act opponent’s claims that the days of credit card rewards would disappear once those well meaning banks are pummeled by oppressive regulations. According to the industry, these regulations were only going to hurt consumers, as banks would be forced to end their reward programs in order to survive in the post-CARD dystopia. They really only had your interest in mind, after all.
Glad I Called Them On It
Sure enough, credit card companies have tightened credit and raised interest rates. They are still in business to make a profit, but now they have to try harder to find customers that represent the best risk. Predictably, this has led them to use more bait to lure potential new customers. If you are trying to catch customers, the bait you use is called a sign up bonus.
US Airways Card From Barclay Comes With Plenty Of Goodies
One by one, each airline offered a card that waived annual fees, threw in some perks, and bowled you over with a great sign up bonus. Chase had a British Airways card that offered 100,000 miles, and Citibank has a card that offers 75,000 bonus miles at sign up. US Airways seemed to be the lone hold out, but no longer.
After the first year, they give you a 10,000 mile annual bonus that might persuade you to justify their whopping $89 annual fee.
So How Good Of A Deal Is This?
Lets just say that since US Airways went to a three tiered system like Delta’s, 35,000 is the new 25,000. 35k is about how much you can reasonably expect to find a domestic award seat for. In fact, their system is worse than Delta’s in that they still charge a$75 ticketing fee for itineraries booked within 14 days.
On the other hand, the $99 companion tickets are a great deal. They require the purchase of a $250 fare or higher, but it would be a shame to waste them on a cheaper trip anyways. There are few blackout dates, but they should be useful for some expensive trip for two in the lower 48 or Canada. In fact, I could definitely see a lot of value if you were to redeem them for trips to Canada, which suffers from very high airfare and a slight aftertaste in their beers. (cue hockey brawl)
The priority boarding and preferred seat assignments confirm my long held belief that credit cards affiliated with loyalty programs are moving towards intangible benefits or ones with little or no marginal costs. Look for more of the preferred this and priority that when it comes to credit card rewards. These perks are valuable for travelers and a revenue enhancing free-be for the airlines.
As a credit card for day to day use, it really goes out of it’s way not to stand out of the pack. 1 mile per dollar for purchases, double miles for purchases from US Airways, blah, blah, blah. Savvy cardholders know that you will get more US Airways miles if you used your Starwood Amex, and more value (2 cents per dollar) out of your purchases with a Capital One Venture Rewards card.
This card makes great sense if you are planning on flying US Airways sometime soon. The bonus miles will boost your account, and the companion certs can be valuable. Just don’t use this card every day and think that you are getting some great deal.
Have you ever wondered why more and more retailers are starting to ask for your zip code when you use your credit card. Like most people, I just assumed this was part of a security enhancing scheme to ensure I am not using a stolen card. I always gave my zip out freely, figuring that is hardly personally identifiable information. No harm, no foul.
I Was Wrong
It turns out that your zip code, in combination with your name, is a very accurate way of determining who you are. With those two pieces of information, it is very easy for a retailer to add your address to their marketing databases. This, according to information about a recent California Supreme Court ruling that makes it illegal for a retailer in that state to even ask. The plaintiff successfully sued the Williams-Sonoma store when it asked for her zip code. The store used that information to send mail to customers without asking for their consent.
Williams Sonoma Still Doesn’t Get It
People do not want to be added to marketing databases without their knowledge or consent. Sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Not if your an attorney representing retailers. Attorney Donna Wilson who represents retailers, was quoted as saying: “The whole idea of retailing is marketing. How do you get in contact with your customers if you’re not allowed to ask for the information?” Wow, talk about being out of touch. Business do not have a right to your personal information for marketing purposes, regardless of what you think “The whole idea of retailing” is. People walk into a store and are willing to exchange money for good and services. My personal information is not part of that transaction unless I consent, at least according to California law.
What About The Gas Station
The ruling specifically exempts gas stations that actually use zip codes for security reasons. The problem I have is that there does not seem to be much in the way of safeguards to prevent retailers from using information originally requested for security purposes to be later used for marketing. It will be up to consumers to notice the marketing and trace it back to the transaction.
What Will I Do
I do not live in California, and I do not think that my home state, Colorado, has a consumer privacy law like California’s. I have always declined to give out my address or phone number when asked by a merchant, but I have been willing to divulge my zip. Now that I realize there is little difference between giving your address and giving your zip, I will also decline to hand out my zip code when asked. The problem will come when cashiers, correctly or incorrectly claim that the zip is required for security purposes to complete the transaction. I guess I will have to cross that bridge when I come to it, or just give them some bogus zip code.
Nothing irks me more than being the non-consenting target of a marketing campaign. From now on, I will not let retailers trick me into handing out my personal information under the guise of credit card security.
The U.S. Bank FlexPerks Cash Rewards Visa allows cardholders to earn cash rewards for their purchases. We’ll take a further look at this card and determine who this card may be for.
