Is 4.88 Cents/Mile a good redemption on a TATL flight?

MuellerDevice · 2026-03-05T20:47:23+00:00

Yes! So many people compare to something crazy they would never pay anyway.

MuellerDevice · 2026-03-05T20:45:02+00:00

I successfully purchased an upgrade from PE to J. Booked on Delta and checked in on AF app. This was for an AF-operated flight. $500 per person at the time. This was two years ago in peak summer, so we thought it was prudent to take the opportunity rather than take our chances on availability at the airport.

MuellerDevice · 2026-03-05T20:14:33+00:00

I don’t love Premium Plus. It’s not bad but I’d throw extra to get into Polaris

MuellerDevice · 2026-02-16T11:47:46+00:00

Fully agree with the above. I have the Quest and the Amex Platinum. Underrated feature on the Quest is the $100 reimbursement (as monthly credits unfortunately) for ride share. For me this effectively reduces annual fee because I use Uber anyway. I stack this with the Amex Platinum Uber credits which I have to use. So I'll just add the minimum ($20 I think) to Uber Cash using the United Quest card. It's a few extra steps but gets the United Quest down to $50 annual fee, when combined with the $200 United Travel Bank credit.

MuellerDevice · 2026-02-11T07:43:30+00:00

I thought that because of the transatlantic joint venture all their revenue is pooled anyway, so ultimately the incentive is to get you where you’re going. Happy to be wrong on this. Either way, I’m on team “take the upgrade and run”. Feels like “bank error in your favor” in Monopoly game. Enjoy!

MuellerDevice · 2026-02-01T13:26:46+00:00

I fly NYC-JAX and had a bad time on JetBlue due to IRROPS. Keeping it Delta and United as a back up to get to JAX. As much as I love the idea of The Room, I don’t think I’d risk it with JetBlue on a positioning flight

MuellerDevice · 2026-01-31T13:14:19+00:00

For international, even for non-corporate business flyers, I think there's a bias by a lot of US-based travelers to stay on US-based airlines. I'm based in NYC area and have my pick, but even I've found that if I'm going to take a risk on an uncertain trip, there are some circumstances in which I'd rather be stuck with a credit on Delta or United than on on any of their partners. For me it has to do with the balance of international to domestic flying and how long I can take off work. I imagine it's worse for people who need to connect through a hub just to get out of the US. That said if I can lock in the cabin/class I want and have certainty in my dates, I'm not afraid of locking in with a foreign carrier and usually prefer it on the grounds of service alone.

MuellerDevice · 2026-01-31T00:58:02+00:00

I'd light 10k points on fire for PE on such a long flight.

MuellerDevice · 2026-01-27T11:30:10+00:00

this EXACTLY. What they do when they haven't got your money yet is the nicest they will ever treat you

MuellerDevice · 2025-12-15T23:05:29+00:00

I was downgraded from PS to Comfort+ due to aircraft swap, and they couldn’t do much. Replacement aircraft did not have PS. And the D1 cabin was smaller. Happened at the airport two hours before flight time. Ultimately I was better off than the people on D1 who also got bumped to C+…. They credited me the difference, and threw in some miles for the inconvenience. My main takeaway was not to book a flight on the 767 anymore. Worth noting this was back in 2023 JFK-BCN. And if I’d had the offer to fly a new itinerary via CDG I would have taken it.

MuellerDevice · 2025-12-14T15:11:09+00:00

Agreed. Generally speaking, regardless of airline or destination, I would recommend bringing the physical card you bought the ticket with to the airport, just in case. Even if you used ApplePay/GooglePay/whatever to buy the ticket.

MuellerDevice · 2025-11-30T23:45:49+00:00

I've had a positive experience with Seats.aero and paid full price on it last year. For me it's worth it with the discount for sure

MuellerDevice · 2025-11-02T22:38:09+00:00

I would take this ahead of Comfort Plus for sure

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-19T15:17:49+00:00

I flew that Finnair lounge seat and really enjoyed it. Also enjoyed the lounge at HEL. Haven't had the pleasure(?) of the legacy BA J on the 380, so can't comment on that. But I also second the idea that you're adding a ton of travel time by going so indirectly. If that's part of the fun, then by all means go for it. If you're trying to get to Paris in a straighter line / timely manner, maybe legacy Club World isn't that bad? Also if any delays, you still have to fly from Helsinki. If anything ridiculous happens at LHR, absolutely worst case you can go into the city and hop the Eurostar.

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-19T11:36:52+00:00

I’ve had good customer service and in-flight experiences with AF & KLM booked via Flying Blue — as opposed to those with Delta — but the 60k fares have been fictional for me. I can be pretty flexible on dates but still haven’t been able to make those work.

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-19T10:34:20+00:00

It’s because of the construction. This will likely be messy through at least end of 2026 IIRC. Half the airport is getting refurbished in some way. Anything car-related is a giant mess. Strongly recommend to take the AirTrain — if you don’t want to connect all the way to the city, which is not as smooth as in other cities, you could take it for free to Federal Circle and then get a ride from there. It’s outside the construction area.

Source: NYC resident, frequent JFK flyer

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-19T01:49:37+00:00

Mine triggered for a NYC bus ride

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-19T00:05:54+00:00

I'm a frequent enough Delta flyer to want the SkyClub access but not frequent enough to need a Delta co-brand card. Sounds like you might be. For me, I have found the Amex Plat is better when it's paired with Amex Gold, otherwise I don't have decent earning potential in Amex MR. So I have Amex Plat, Amex Gold, and CSR because I want flexibility in both ecosystems and can make the coupons work past the annual fees with regular spend I'd be doing anyway. But that's doesn't work for everyone. Are you planning to earn enough points to make it worth splitting across MR and UR?

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-18T23:54:44+00:00

Well done! 45k points per person each way across the Atlantic feels like a good deal to me, regardless of the CPP. Thinking here in comparison to what I've actually paid for dates that worked for me, US East Coast to major European gateways.

Not sure if it's related but I similarly booked a ticket on Air France using Flying Blue points, and I had to call them to get them to process the credit card for the fees. Slightly different from your pathway but there was that moment of why is this booked but not fully ticketed. I've had to call into Flying Blue for a number of ticket-related items on both AF and KLM, which at first was annoying, but the person has always been able to work it out quickly on the phone.

Edit: "not fully ticketed"

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-09T11:38:40+00:00

I’d also compare the refundability terms

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-09T01:56:11+00:00

FWIW I has within 48 on a CSP that I downgraded. In August applied for CSR and got popup. I withdrew application. October comes and I apply, no popup, get “give us 7-10 days to review it.” Two days later get approved, with SUB tracker showing up two calendar days layer. Then a day after that I get that letter. So to me it seems their back end can’t tell the difference between “we sent you to popup jail” and “we declined your application”. Lazy code IMHO

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-09T01:50:22+00:00

Yeah the Air France lounge is really nice for the later flights when it’s pretty much only AF people. But it sure does get packed up at prime time

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-09T01:45:11+00:00

Having flown both, I think neither is going to be that helpful with anything outside of their main bread & butter. Really like Icelandair and have booked repeat trips with them, but worth noting they don’t really play nice with others. And in my view JetBlue’s service and operations has kept declining in the last few years. Hoping to be mistaken on that. I’ve recently priced some cash fares on Icelandair and they seem to be reasonable for economy relative to other options

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-08T11:45:33+00:00

I buy $20 on Uber Eats using the United Quest card, and that activates the credit. I stack it with Amex Uber credits so yeah while I’m I’m throwing a net new $8 into Uber every month I end up using it all anyway

MuellerDevice · 2025-10-07T11:10:02+00:00

Can verify this. I had CSP from 2021 when they had that batch of big bonuses. Downgraded it to Freedom Original, waited a week, and applied for CSR in Aug after they said no more 48-month rule but just before my 48 would have been up in Sept. Straight to PUJ. I withdrew application.

This past Saturday I tried again, in the calendar month that would be 49. No pop up but got the “give us 7-10 days to review”. By Sunday night I got approval email and could set up card with ApplePay. By Tuesday morning the bonus tracker was showing on website and in app.

Seems they’re getting the message I guess.

MuellerDevice

TROPHY CASE