Airline/Hotel Loyalty Programs

[Pelado]

Who has the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred card? I'm considering applying and it seems like at least one of you should get a referral bonus for it. So please provide a referral link.

For anyone else wanting to apply for a Chase Sapphire card, here's wuapinmon's refer-a-friend link:

https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19n/NSEM2CKU2K

[Joe Public]

I took my first southwest flight in probably 25 years a couple weeks ago, don’t ask, awful circumstances, but it was a horrible experience.

Not knowing which seat you are getting, paying extra for a spot in line, people saving seats by inhabiting middle seats, no television screen, just an awful experience.

I ended up flying 2 legs to get home to avoid the nightmare.

We are with friends this weekend and I’m bitching about it and was rebuked by multiple people who said Southwest is the best, they don’t pay for flights, spouse flies for free, the CC is the best. I feel like I’m in a parallel world.

That’s been my experience as well, including the friends who swear by it part.

We just tried Allegiant for the first time on our trip to Anaheim. Provo to SNA is pretty nice. Plus most additional fees are waived because I'm in the military.

I’ve had a great experience with them on that route. I like the firmer seat, and nobody can recline their seat into my legs. The best part is already being in Provo when I get off of the plane. That’s before the price breaks for us, which makes it the value leader by far.

[Bo Diddley]

Do you board early when they let active-duty military personnel board early?

I've only ever done that once--in London when Mrs. Diddley was taken for some sort of random extra screening. That allowed us to board together.

Otherwise I just don't think it's right.

[Bo Diddley]

I’ve had a great experience with them on that route. I like the firmer seat, and nobody can recline their seat into my legs. The best part is already being in Provo when I get off of the plane. That’s before the price breaks for us, which makes it the value leader by far.

Yeah, I was prepared for uncomfortable seats, but I liked them. The no recline is AWESOME.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Do you board early when they let active-duty military personnel board early?

Ha. I think of Bo when they announce that.

[Bo Diddley]

Ha. I think of Bo when they announce that.

[Copelius]

I've only ever done that once--in London when Mrs. Diddley was taken for some sort of random extra screening. That allowed us to board together.

Otherwise I just don't think it's right.

Why not? You ARE active duty.

[Bo Diddley]

Why not? You ARE active duty.

Yeah, I don't mean it's wrong. I just don't like being given any preferential treatment for doing what I do. Maybe that's a pride thing--it is the universal sin.

[Omaha 680]

I’ve flown them once in the past 20 years. It was also a horrible experience but not because it was southwestern. My problem with SWA is they fly out of Hobby, which is about 1:15 hours from my house. Super inconvenient and driving through the third ward at night is total sketch. I prefer to high brow it on delta and United at IAH.

Haha, I was partially with you but high brow and IAH don't belong in the same paragraph. That place is 70s-80s design hell. I know they are rebuilding D and E but they need to dynamite A/B/C and start over completely before it will be a tolerable experience for domestic flyers. I am spoiled because my home base (the new SLC) is one of the best airports in the country. PANYNJ already rebuilt LGA and it is pretty great and they rebuilt Terminal A at Newark and it is awesome (with the one drawback being they need to rebuild the airtrain so it extends direct to Terminal A). They are also making major upgrades to JFK so I'm pretty set with my regular travel patterns.

Side note: the culling of the Delta herd has finally taken hold from my anecdotal experience. Since February, I have probably been upgraded on more than 95% of my flights. Post pandemic and prior to the purge, the SLC/JFK upgrade was near impossible, even for diamonds. A very welcome change.

[Omaha 680]

We have used the Southwest Rapid Rewards business card for years. Its a great card if you do much domestic travel. We haven't paid for a US flight for years, and with three kids away at college, I'm guessing we'll be getting even more use out of it over the next couple of years. Companion pass is fantastic.

I've considered the Amazon card for years. I like the idea of the 5% back, but that takes away a bunch of our Southwest points.

My BIL is a partner at Deloitte and flies Southwest a lot just because it gets their large family the most free flights for all the travel they do. They use the companion pass a lot. I haven't done Southwest in a while either but I wouldn't completely turn my nose up at it. Given my home base and most frequent destinations are delta hubs and I usually fly alone, a little more comfort for my own personal sanity has me stick to Delta exclusively.

I do have no-go airlines at this point in my life: Frontier, Spirit, American, and Allegiant. We had a horrible experience with Allegiant on a quick family hop from Provo to Orange County so they are out for me but I understand why people use them. The following trip we did Breeze round trip from PVU to SNA I highly recommend it. For a short trip where we could pack light (sharing one large suitcase plus backpacks for the four of us), it literally saved us over $1,000 over flying Delta to SNA and avoided the inconvenience of cheaper Delta flights into LAX. Way more comfortable than Allegiant as well.

[Joe Public]

My BIL is a partner at Deloitte and flies Southwest a lot just because it gets their large family the most free flights for all the travel they do. They use the companion pass a lot. I haven't done Southwest in a while either but I wouldn't completely turn my nose up at it. Given my home base and most frequent destinations are delta hubs and I usually fly alone, a little more comfort for my own personal sanity has me stick to Delta exclusively.

I do have no-go airlines at this point in my life: Frontier, Spirit, American, and Allegiant. We had a horrible experience with Allegiant on a quick family hop from Provo to Orange County so they are out for me but I understand why people use them. The following trip we did Breeze round trip from PVU to SNA I highly recommend it. For a short trip where we could pack light (sharing one large suitcase plus backpacks for the four of us), it literally saved us over $1,000 over flying Delta to SNA and avoided the inconvenience of cheaper Delta flights into LAX. Way more comfortable than Allegiant as well.

What happened with Allegiant?

[fusnik]

Yeah, I don't mean it's wrong. I just don't like being given any preferential treatment for doing what I do. Maybe that's a pride thing--it is the universal sin.

I always thought that military boarded first so I didn’t have to avoid their gaze and get guilted into giving them my seat to show how patriotic I was.

[Moliere]

What happened with Allegiant?

I’ve flown Allegiant several times and have had good experiences. It’s cheap enough that I don’t mind the drive to Hobby and flying I to Provo is a plus. I’d never take it for something important since if you get delayed or cancelled you are kind out of luck.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I’ve flown Allegiant several times and have had good experiences. It’s cheap enough that I don’t mind the drive to Hobby and flying I to Provo is a plus. I’d never take it for something important since if you get delayed or cancelled you are kind out of luck.

Yeah, this is the main issue with these budget airlines. If the flight gets cancelled you are stuck.

[Omaha 680]

What happened with Allegiant?

I will take partial blame because you get what you pay for. I was a super cheapskate and bought four round trip tix from PVU to SNA on Allegiant on a random third party site. It was something ridiculous like $65/each. We made the outbound flight no problem. Return flight two of us couldn't check in for and when I got to the airport I was informed those two tickets were "fraudulent". When I asked why they let me fly on the first leg they just said they didn't know it was fraudulent. So they wanted me to pay the last minute one-way fare for those two tickets, which I ultimately did, after arguing unsuccessfully that they should charge me the original value of the ticket that they sold. I don't think I ended up spending that much more than our original tickets. I paid the last minute markup on the two tickets and then got Amex to reverse the charges on the original tickets.

Shame on me for using a super cheap (apparently shady) third party site to save a few bucks. But the way we were treated when Allegiant clearly is disorganized enough to let people fly on unpaid tickets was annoying. Their customer service reps after the fact were even less helpful (if you could even get a hold of one). I know I shouldn't expect much from a budget airline but they were downright rude. Combine that with the fact the planes are super uncomfortable; the least leg room and narrowest seats I have encountered outside of Spirit, and it just isn't worth the savings for me. Breeze runs most of the same routes and their seats are actually semi-comfortable, so I'll always choose them if I have reason to do a flight from PVU.