US Airways All The Way

I am an Amex Centurion member and have just found out that I can no longer transfer Membership Miles into my US Airways account. What are my alternatives?

– Scott J. Sloan

Transfer the miles into an account with All Nippon Airways or Air Canada. Both are Amex and US Airways partners, so you can book the carrier through either of them. But before you transfer the points to miles, check availability. – MB

Tracking Your Fare After Purchase Can Pay Big Dividends

My wife and I have planned a trip to Europe (San Francisco-London/Heathrow) at the end of September. In late January I booked one round-trip United First Class mileage saver award (SFO-LHR) for my wife for 120,000 miles. I booked the popular 7:20 pm departure to get a full night’s sleep. At that time, an upgradeable Business Class fare was $10,229 and full-fare First Class was $15,000. I didn’t want to pay either. For the next couple of months, I went online regularly to check the fares, but to no avail.

Finally, on April 29, I booked the $10,229 fare, justifying it by telling myself that I had really only paid $5,000 each for two First Class tickets. Then, on June 1, the published fare dropped to $7,710. I immediately held that reservation while I reached United reservations by phone to confirm the fare and exchange my previous booking for it. At first, the reservations person could not find the fare, but after going to her supervisor, she succeeded. I got a $2,519 credit on my VISA and two First Class seats for what amounted to $3,850 each. I call that a bargain. Lesson here is that it pays to keep checking fares and grab deals fast. Thanks for your insights.

– Andrew Sterngold, Portola Valley, CA

Nice going. The London market has been extremely volatile over the last year. Heavily discounted fares get the most attention, whereas middle-level fares (which are often required to upgrade) like the one you got are often overlooked. This is especially true from New York: We found an upgradeable Business Class fare to London for less than $3,000 last year. But whatever your departure city, it’s always advisable to track fares on your itinerary to see if they drop after you purchase. Most carriers will issue a refund if the lower fare is in the same “booking class.” Your willingness to settle for one award seat even though you wanted two was also wise. Textbook play here, Mr. Sterngold. – MB

You May Have Mail

Don’t be so quick to delete email offers from airlines. True, most of them are junk, but I just heard (and verified via fax) from a subscriber that American Express is offering 100,000 bonus Membership Reward points to sign up for its Platinum Card, which only costs $400. That’s enough to buy an Air France First Class award worth as much as $15,000! Too bad this particular promo was “targeted,” meaning only valid for the recipient named on the letter.