In this weekend’s Frequent Miler week in review around the web, read about the true costs of a Kenyan Safari, getting an awesome retention offer for the second time, an MS shut down story, and more. Read on for this week’s recap:
Here’s What My Kenya Safari Cost (Every Dollar I Spent)
I’m including this post from sightDOING because I included a post about planning this safari a couple of weeks ago in week in review and I think there is value for those interested in this type of trip in seeing the costs broken down. I love the detail here as it gives you a very realistic picture as to what this trip cost as well as ideas about how you might adjust individual numbers up or down if you were planning the same trip. Hopefully prices will be roughly equal in a few years when I’m ready for my first family safari!
Another Year, Another Awesome Retention Offer on the Citi AT&T Access More Card
This. Is. Awesome. Middle Age Miles brings us the report that he has once again gotten the terrific retention offer on the AT&T Access More card that offers an additional 2x per $1 on up to $17,500 in purchases over 6 months, making it a 3x everywhere or 5x online purchases card. Combined the Turkish Miles & Smiles sweet spot, this would be terrific. It’s a great reminder that it’s worth calling now and then to see what you can get.
Booking an Avios Multi-Carrier Award + Spontaneous Trip Update
We included a post in week in review around the web a couple of months ago about the British Airways multi-carrier chart, and this latest post from Prince of Travel shows exactly how it works and can be leveraged for fantastic value. Here’s hoping I get a currency that transfers to BA for the next (hopefully luxury) iteration of our 40K to Far Away challenge.
Cathay Pacific Massively Cuts New York Capacity
Award availability on Cathay Pacific to/from New York has been excellent lately due to the political situation there right now. Just a couple of months ago, I had my pick from several flights each day with the 4 award seats I needed in business class. Unfortunately, that may not be the case starting later this year, and those looking to fly first class will have many fewer options, which will likely ratchet up demand for the few North American routes . One Mile at a Time has the details.
Reader gets rejected trying to get back into Chase
The most important thing for manufactured spending newcomers to keep in mind is to start slow and ramp up over time — both from the standpoint of “seasoning” your cards to be used to bigger spend and because you want to know what you’re doing before you get stuck with a lot of gift cards and your preferred liquidation method gets shut down. However, in conversations with readers at events, I often find there are misconceptions about what can or can not be done and what constitutes a “lot” of MS. I’m including this post from Miles Per Day to offer some perspective from the opposite end of the spectrum — and also how bad the consequences can be when it doesn’t turn out as you hope or expect.
That’s it for this week around the web. Check back soon for this week’s last chance deals.
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Miles per Day article seems sensationalistic – guy did a lot of MS and upshot nothing happened other than didn’t get approved for a CSR 9 months later? Seems a slap on the wrist.
Nick, start saving up Virgin Atlantic points and do yourself a huge favor and stay at the Virgin safari lodges. Their small/exclusive Kenyan Mahali Mzuri lodge is located in a private game reserve outside the Mara. Don’t bother with self-drive again – it’s a vastly better experience with a private guide/vehicle on private lands – some places we went were completely private – not another vehicle for miles. And since there are signifcantly fewer tourists on private lands, animals tend to stay in greater numbers year-round, so even if you miss the migration, you will still see plenty of animals – no fighting dozens of other vehicles desperate to see a few harrassed lions/cheetah in the national parks. We liked Mahali Mzuri better than their Sabi Sands property (Ulusaba) in South Africa, mostly due to more privacy/exclusivity/better animal viewing.
Hi Nick – Many thanks for the link and shout-out! I’m still tickled pink about the ATTAM retention offer and hope the article helps some other people reach out for retention offers too. Hope you’re having a good weekend. ~Craig