Month: August 2016

Visa and MasterCard Benefits

With the different classes of credit cards offered by Visa and MasterCard, it can be difficult to keep track of what perks are associated with which. Add to the confusion the introduction of a new tier, Visa Infinite, and it can get a little crazy.

Visa

Visa Traditional

At the lowest level, cards simply identified as Visa offer very few inherent benefits. That said, card issuers are known to offer quite a few that can be identified in the benefits agreement that is sent to cardholders. All users, however, will be guaranteed the following:

  • Secondary Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
  • Emergency Card Replacement and Emergency Cash
  • Lost and Stolen Card Reporting
  • Zero Liability

Visa Signature

The middle tier, Signature, has all the benefits of the traditional Visa with quite a few travel perks.

Visa Signature cards also start with a $5000 minimum credit limit, and card issuers are known to bundle quite a few perks with these cards. Chase, in particular, has the Sapphire Preferred [affiliate link] as well as a variety of hotel and airline cards (United, Hyatt, Marriott, and British Airways) that are all in the Visa family.

Visa Infinite

The Visa Infinite level was previously only offered outside of the United States, but recently there have been two cards that fall into this category with a third on the way. Of the three, two are issued by Chase (noticing a pattern?). The remaining card is issued by Crystal National Bank. In all cases, the cards come with a fairly steep annual fee – upwards of $400.

As with the Visa Signature and Visa Traditional cards, the Visa Infinite will carry with it all benefits from lower tiers. Both issuing companies offer, TSA PreCheck/Global Entry reimbursement every five years, and travel credits of varying degrees.

The biggest perk offered is the Visa Infinite family is that domestic, coach airfare for two to five people will receive a $100 discount. That is – each time the card is used to purchase more than one ticket (where the cardholder is traveling), you receive a discount of $100. There is no limit to the number of times you can use this, and you can be upgraded after the tickets are purhcased from what I have been able to discern. DoctorOfCredit has a helpful breakdown of this feature.

In the same vein, the biggest disappointment is that the brand new card from Chase, the Sapphire Reserve, will not have this benefit.

MasterCard

Traditional MasterCard

As with the traditional Visa, the traditional MasterCard offers the fewest benefits of the MasterCard family. Many of the benefits of this tier are similar to those offered by Visa. Some of the main points can be found below. A full list can be found at MasterCard’s website.

World MasterCard

Keeping with the relationship of Visa Signature to Visa traditional, the World MasterCard carries with it all the benefits offered by the traditional MasterCard level.

Just like the Visa Signature, the World MasterCard offers a concierge service and a variety of travel related perks. Interestingly, World MasterCards can be issued with quite low credit limits – sometimes as low as $1000.

  • MasterCard Travel Offers
  • MasterCard Airport Concierge
  • World Air Program
  • World Cruise Program
  • World Tours and Vacations Program

World Elite MasterCard

The World Elite MasterCard is the luxury level offering in the MasterCard card line. It comes with premium concierge service and a variety of travel benefits. A full list with details can be found on the MasterCard website.

    • MasterCard Luxury Hotels & Resorts
    • MasterCard Airport Concierge
    • Personal Travel Advisor
    • World Elite Air Program
    • World Elite Private Jet Program
    • World Elite Cruise Program
    • World Elite Car Rental Program
    • World Elite Tours and Vacations Program

Trip Cancellation Insurance

As with the World MasterCard, there is no credit limit requirement, unlike the cards offered by Visa. Similarly, not all World Elite MasterCards come with high annual fees. The Arrival+ card offered by BarclayCard clocks in at $89, for example, while higher tier cards such as the Citi Prestige have a fee that reflects it.

Charleston Gem: Halls Chophouse

2016-07-13-HallsEntrance

This weekend I was visiting Charleston for my brother’s white coat ceremony. For those not familiar with it, it is the induction ceremony to medical school, so definitely cause for celebration! After some poking around, we decided we would go with Halls Chophouse, as it had excellent reviews across various platforms and specifically identified dry-aged beef – a personal favorite.

Location

Halls Chophouse can be found in downtown Charleston at 434 King St, Charleston, SC 29403. Though there are many fine dining options available in Charleston, I think I have found my new favorite. Be sure to dress the part, though – it is an upscale joint!

Menu Selections

We started the evening with a nice glass of Syrah, as we were all planning on having steak for dinner. After inspecting the menu, we decided on sharing Oyster Rockefeller. We also agreed on Brussels Sprouts with roasted Pancetta in a light cream sauce for one side, with the second side for the table being Collard Greens cooked in Apple-Cider Vinegar with chunks of bacon. You can see the full menu here.

Delicious Syrah
Delicious Syrah
Oysters Rockefeller
Oysters Rockefeller

For my entree, I went with a 14 ounce, dry-aged New York Strip. It was cooked expertly at a warm rare.

Dry-Aged 14-oz NY Strip
Dry-Aged 14-oz NY Strip
Bacon with Sweet and Sour Collard Greens
Bacon with Sweet and Sour Collard Greens
Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Service

I cannot say enough good things about this aspect of the dining experience. Our waitress (Caitlin – ask for her!) and her coworkers never let our water levels fall below half, took care of our wine, and even served our sides to us. The most striking thing, however, was that when she asked if we were here for a special occasion, she communicated that to the member of the Halls family that was working that evening. I have never seen that done before, and it blew me away.

He then came by our table and told us how great it was to have us joining him for dinner. As we were getting ready to leave, our waitress let us know that they had given my brother a slice of chocolate cake as a congratulatory gift from the entire Halls family! More surprising still, after we had left the establishment, he followed us to the street and called us back to have complimentary shots of Fireball to mark the beginning of the next chapter of my brother’s life. I have never seen this level of attentiveness at a restaurant, and it really blew me away.

This is how you get repeat customers.

If you are headed to Charleston in the coming months, or even if you aren’t – make it a point to come to Halls Chophouse!

Flight Booking Terminology

When browsing various travel-related sites, it is not uncommon to see terms like “stopover” and “open-jaw” thrown around. Along with the term “layover” all three express different levels of flexibility in travel, so it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with all of them. I also mention some more uncommon airline acronyms that are frequently used at sites like FlyerTalk.

Layover

We’re all familiar with the infamous layover – also referred to as a connection, among other things. As the name implies, it is when you route through another city to reach your destination. Usually these are short stops, but it is a good idea to check flight histories on FlightAware to make sure you have enough time to deplane and get to the next gate on time. I like to give myself an hour and a half to account for stretching as well as potential delays, to be safe.

Stopover

A stopover is essence a longer layover, and it is often easier to book them as two separate flights. These offer travelers the flexibility to leave the confines of the airport and explore their connecting city. If you have the ability to use multi-segment booking with the airline of your choice, it is advisable to use that feature as if your inbound flight experiences problems, you will be rebooked on subsequent flights seamlessly (usually!). Some airlines will let you add notes between Passenger Name Records (PNRs) to allow an agent to be aware that one trip is linked to the other.

Open-Jaw

An Open-Jaw ticket is one where you fly to one city and return from a different one. This allows you the flexibility to arrange the intermediary travel however is most convenient to you. These are particularly popular for within the European Union given the ease of transit between countries and the inexpensive use of British Airlines Avios as it is distance based.

One example is to book a flight from Boston to Paris, and the return from Rome to Boston. You would then book the travel between Paris and Rome separately – maybe by train, plane, renting a car, and so on. This is popular with international travel given the range of prices that you might encounter when flying to and from certain cities, and the ease of travel once within a country.

Other Terms

FlyerTalk has a wonderful glossary that they have maintained over the years, but I’ve listed some important terms to keep in mind (specifically for interruptions) below.

  • IROPS / IRROPS: Irregular Operations – see OSO
  • OSI: Other Supplementary Information- PNR field, can hold a TCP note
  • OSO: Off Schedule Operations – flight changes and schedule disruptions
  • PNR: This is commonly referred to as your confirmation number. Airlines use a 6 character combination of letters and numbers as a shortcut to your itinerary. Other information can be tied to your PNR, such as special service requests. A full list of fields can be found here.
  • TCP: To Complete Party – a note indicating passenger is traveling with another, etc.,  but on two separate PNRs

SkyRoam – Unboxing

Affiliate Link Note: If you use my link to SkyRoam, you’ll get $20 off your purchase (to buy, not rent), and I’ll get a few free days! You certainly don’t have to… but I wouldn’t object!

A few days ago, I posted that I was purchasing a SkyRoam [Affiliate Link] hotspot. It came in on Friday and I thought I would share the unboxing!

The packaging itself
The packaging itself

The hotspot arrived in neat looking packaging – very compact as you would expect. Contained within the package was the battery – rated at providing roughly 8 hours of use before recharging is necessary, the charging cable – standard MicroUSB, and the hotspot itself.

SkyRoam package contents: hotspot, Lithium-Ion battery, charging cable
SkyRoam package contents: hotspot, Lithium-Ion battery, charging cable
The hotspot itself
The hotspot itself
Orange back!
Orange back!

The hotspot is a sleek looking black-and-orange device with blue lighting for the buttons.

I’m really looking forward to using this overseas – registration of the device was a breeze!

Your Rights – Passenger Bumping

Background

When airlines sell seats on flights, they tend to sell more seats than are available on the plane. They do this because historical trending showing that number of passengers on a given flight don’t arrive on time. While different airlines handle voluntary bumping differently – offering it at check-in versus at the gate versus both, some don’t allow it at all.

The primary distinction between the two is in their names:

  • Voluntary bumping is when you offer to give up your seat for compensation offered by the airline. This is usually in the form of flight vouchers that you can use for future flights with the airline.
  • Involuntary bumping where you are denied boarding though you have paid for and have secured a seat on the flight.

It is fairly rare to experience involuntary bumping; there are a few reasons for this.

  • The DOT defines an involuntary bump as one happening due to an airline overbooking problem, and not due to weather/acts of god.
  • If the passenger is aware of their rights, they are entitled compensation when involuntarily bumped – potentially more than what the airline might offer when asking for volunteers. This compensation is determined by the DOT – more below.

Voluntary Bumping

When volunteering to be bumped, it is important that you ask some important questions to the gate agent. Be sure to get all the flight information for the new flight, and that you won’t be flying stand-by. With regards to the voucher, be sure to ask regarding things like blackout dates, expiration dates, and other limitations that might not be obvious.

Most airlines that practice voluntary bumping will ask at the gate when more passengers have checked-in than there are seats on the flight. This, however, does not indicate that you will be selected as there is still a chance that another passenger will not make the flight. In the event that you are asked to not board, after volunteering, you receive the flight voucher and are rebooked per the situation.

Delta is different from other airlines in that it asks you if you are willing to be bumped at the time of check-in. You then provide a monetary level that you would be willing to accept in compensation. If you are selected, the gate agent will then page you and go over the points with you in person. Though this can be faster, I prefer asking the agent at the gate to ensure that I am aware of all the limitations of the voucher.

Involuntary Bumping

TravelSense also provides details on the compensation that the DOT requires for passengers that are impacted by involuntary bumping. The full requirements to be bumped can be found in the document listed below in the “Additional Reading” section. Note that if you are involuntarily bumped but still arrive at your final destination within an hour of your original time, you receive no compensation.

A breakdown by travel type and inconvenience (delay time) can be found in the table below, and on TravelSense.

Flight TypeTotal DelayCompensationCompensation Limit
Domestic< 1 hourNoneN/A
1 – 2 hours200% of one-way fare$650
> 2 hours400% of one-way fare$1,300
Int’l< 1 hourNoneN/A
1 – 4 hours200% of one-way fare$650
> 4 hours400% of one-way fare$1,300

DOT Defined Compensation – Travelsense.org

Additional Reading

Here is the DOT’s full document on “Sky-Rights“. There is a lot of information there, and not all of it will apply, but it is always better to go in fully prepared.

 

Power Outages and Cancellations

Update: Georgia Power has elaborated on the problem and explained that it was equipment failure at Delta that caused the outage. Additionally, Delta has expanded their travel waiver to cover Tuesday travelers as well as those affected on Monday, though travel still needs to take place by Friday. Finally, a correction regarding the American Express Platinum protection – this protection is an added purchase, while it is complimentary with the Citi Prestige and Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Update 2: Delta is extending their waiver another day as there were more cancellations today, and more are expected for tomorrow.

As many of you are aware by now, a power outage in Atlanta resulted in Delta going dark this morning. Starting at 2:38 AM, the outage lasted for 6 hours and affected everything from displays at airports to mobile apps and the check-in kiosks. Thankfully they are issuing free travel change waivers for those affected today.

René, of RenesPoints on BoardingArea, has a helpful post outlining how to handle a situation like this. The most important things to do are to remain calm and polite when working with customer service representatives. They’ve been dealing with this problem since customers started to get affected by it this morning, and they likely won’t be done cleaning things up for a few days.

Make use of the travel change waiver, if your plans are somewhat flexible, and read up on your credit card’s travel interruption protection coverage! Some cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, American Express Platinum, and Citi Prestige, will cover purchases for food, hotel stays, and other essentials for delays exceeding certain periods. With the Citi Prestige, for example, any delay over 3 hours qualifies. The Chase Sapphire Preferred [affiliate link] requires a longer period: 12 hours. The Platinum card from American Express [affiliate link] is in the middle at 4 hours. Links to the documentation for these cards can be found below, and a full list of cards that cover such expenses can be found at MileCards.

Remember – stay safe and don’t panic if your flight is cancelled; Delta will make sure you get to your destination! It never hurts to send them a tweet (@Delta), but again remember that there is a person behind that screen, and they’re doing whatever they can to help everyone affected.