I lamented yesterday about how Jet Blue recently made a bazillion seats available for reward travel that were not available last month when I booked a flight with my True Blue reward pass. I think it is unfair that Jet Blue is charging me $100 to switch to a newly available reward seat (on a more conveinent flight then the one I was forced to take because it was the only one with a reward seat available at the time), so I wrote them a letter via their online "concern" form (note they do not call it a "complaint" form....) Mind you, I am not trying to make this change because I missed an opportunity to get a particular flight, the opportunity was simply not available when I originally booked my ticket!
Following are some highlights of the response, and of the response to my response:
"As you know, the airline industry is in a very tough position these days, and Crewmembers are held accountable any time they go against company guidelines to make exceptions like those you requested."
and
"Although we strive for the highest level of customer service, that does not always constitute a refund, compensation, or fare adjustment. Because JetBlue is a nonrefundable airline, we must respectfully deny your request to waive our change fees."
along with a bunch of BS about how they value my customer service and pride themselves on being a service-oriented airline.
Seriously, it costs them nothing to let me transfer my REWARD flight pass from one flight to another. I'm being penalized for booking my flight too early, and they tell you to book early to get an award seat! Stupid stupid stupid, and yes, I am letting this put me in a bad mood. This is another reason why I refuse to sign up for an airlines-reward credit card, because it's so difficult to use the darn rewards!
Jet Blue, I am not happy with you.
Showing posts with label jet blue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jet blue. Show all posts
Friday, August 8, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Jet Blue, you win :(
I give up!!!! Argh, you simply cannot win with the airlines these days. In no other industry that I've experienced, do prices fluctuate as wildly as they do in the airline industry. This leaves me feeling so frustrated because I try to plan ahead and time things well, but the inevitably the prices go down in my mush after I've bought a ticket! And if I wait too long to buy a ticket I'm eyeing, the price goes UP in my mush! I really just can't win.
Last month I posted about a ticket I bought to go to a wedding in San Francisco this fall using my Jet Blue "True Blue" award. It was extremely difficult to use this award, as a limited number of award seats are available on each flight, so I got a ticket for the only flight to any of the airports in the SF area for which I could use my award, even though it ended up being an inconvenient arrival time at an incovenient airport for my friend who will be picking me up. There were no award flights available leaving any SF area airports that Sunday, so I had to buy one on Virgin America, which promptly went on sale for $70 lower a couple weeks later. SO frustrating, since I had watched that ticket price go up, Up, UP! And now there are all kinds of award seats available for Jet Blue flights leaving the SF area that weekend. GRR!
So I lost, and then lost again. If only I had waited, I could have used reward travel both ways, and gotten decent departure/arrival times. I called Jet Blue and it will cost me $100 to change my award ticket, and VA charges $75, so I will leave my reservations as-is and just try to standby onto an earlier JBlu flight going out there, and stick with VA on the way home.
I love finding flight bargains, and I feel CRUSHED when I don't get a good deal.
:(
Well, on a positive note, I doubt that I will find a better deal than the $59 flight I got for my friend's wedding to Richmond. But flights to Richmond only fluctuate by $40-$60, compared to the $100's extra I paid to SF.
Update: I have submitted a letter via Jet Blue's online comment submission form asking them if they would kindly waive a change fee, since the flight I want to take was simply not available when I booked the award ticket. I am hoping that they will help me out, since I've been a dedicated True Blue member for years and have spent a lot of money to accrue points. However, airlines are so tight for cash right now that they probably feel no obligation to do this for me, whatsoever. Oh well, can't hurt to try. Am anxiously waiting for a reply.
Last month I posted about a ticket I bought to go to a wedding in San Francisco this fall using my Jet Blue "True Blue" award. It was extremely difficult to use this award, as a limited number of award seats are available on each flight, so I got a ticket for the only flight to any of the airports in the SF area for which I could use my award, even though it ended up being an inconvenient arrival time at an incovenient airport for my friend who will be picking me up. There were no award flights available leaving any SF area airports that Sunday, so I had to buy one on Virgin America, which promptly went on sale for $70 lower a couple weeks later. SO frustrating, since I had watched that ticket price go up, Up, UP! And now there are all kinds of award seats available for Jet Blue flights leaving the SF area that weekend. GRR!
So I lost, and then lost again. If only I had waited, I could have used reward travel both ways, and gotten decent departure/arrival times. I called Jet Blue and it will cost me $100 to change my award ticket, and VA charges $75, so I will leave my reservations as-is and just try to standby onto an earlier JBlu flight going out there, and stick with VA on the way home.
I love finding flight bargains, and I feel CRUSHED when I don't get a good deal.
:(
Well, on a positive note, I doubt that I will find a better deal than the $59 flight I got for my friend's wedding to Richmond. But flights to Richmond only fluctuate by $40-$60, compared to the $100's extra I paid to SF.
Update: I have submitted a letter via Jet Blue's online comment submission form asking them if they would kindly waive a change fee, since the flight I want to take was simply not available when I booked the award ticket. I am hoping that they will help me out, since I've been a dedicated True Blue member for years and have spent a lot of money to accrue points. However, airlines are so tight for cash right now that they probably feel no obligation to do this for me, whatsoever. Oh well, can't hurt to try. Am anxiously waiting for a reply.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Wedding Flights
Well, I spoke too soon about not buying any airline tickets for this credit card statement cycle....
I am the MOH in my friend's wedding this fall, which is in Lynchburg VA, and to get there I will have to fly to Richmond, rent a car, and drive the 2.5hrs to Lynchburg. There are closer airports (a small one in Lynchburg, a moderate one in Roanoke), but flights there are from NYC are pretty expensive and usually involve layovers in out-of-the-way cities like Atlanta or Detroit. Given the recent sale at Jet Blue, which flies frequently from NYC to Richmond, I wanted to get some tickets on the cheap!
I purchased my flight to Richmond with JBlu on a Thursday morning for $59 before taxes, I haven't seen fares like that since early 2007! The BF is flying down Friday night for $105 including tax, and we will both have to purchase $105 flights to return on Sunday. Delta has the most flexible flight times for our return, so even though I hate flying small regional jets (motion sickness is a weakness of mine), I'm going to have to deal.
I am thinking about buying the BF's return ticket as a gesture, because he's going out of his way to attend MY friend's wedding, and while they've met several times and like eachother a lot, it's a very long-distance friendship for them. (And they don't email each other every day like she and I do, ha ) I'm happy that he wants to come, but as MOH, I don't even think I will be able to spend that much time with him at the wedding. I think he's coming to make sure I don't spend too much time with the groomsmen at the afterparty...hmmm maybe I shouldn't pay for his ticket after all, ha...
I am the MOH in my friend's wedding this fall, which is in Lynchburg VA, and to get there I will have to fly to Richmond, rent a car, and drive the 2.5hrs to Lynchburg. There are closer airports (a small one in Lynchburg, a moderate one in Roanoke), but flights there are from NYC are pretty expensive and usually involve layovers in out-of-the-way cities like Atlanta or Detroit. Given the recent sale at Jet Blue, which flies frequently from NYC to Richmond, I wanted to get some tickets on the cheap!
I purchased my flight to Richmond with JBlu on a Thursday morning for $59 before taxes, I haven't seen fares like that since early 2007! The BF is flying down Friday night for $105 including tax, and we will both have to purchase $105 flights to return on Sunday. Delta has the most flexible flight times for our return, so even though I hate flying small regional jets (motion sickness is a weakness of mine), I'm going to have to deal.
I am thinking about buying the BF's return ticket as a gesture, because he's going out of his way to attend MY friend's wedding, and while they've met several times and like eachother a lot, it's a very long-distance friendship for them. (And they don't email each other every day like she and I do, ha ) I'm happy that he wants to come, but as MOH, I don't even think I will be able to spend that much time with him at the wedding. I think he's coming to make sure I don't spend too much time with the groomsmen at the afterparty...hmmm maybe I shouldn't pay for his ticket after all, ha...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Flight deals
I love finding the best travel deals possible (since I travel almost every weekend), and one of the best tools in my box right now is www.kayak.com. Kayak is different from other flight search engines because it helps you find the best airfare available for only the flights you want, and it's so easy and uncluttered. I have pretty strict requirements- I need to leave Friday evenings after work and I usually like to stay at my destnation through Sunday evening, but not arrive in NYC too late, so I just adjust the "depart by" and "arrive by" bars so that I don't get fooled by cheap flights that leave at inconvenient times. You can also select (or de-select) a group of airlines to search from, include a range of nearby airports, and choose from all kinds of other search criteria. Note, I am not sponsored by Kayak to laud them, I just love them so much because they help make my fantasy vacations become reality!
One of the best new features at kayak.com is the "weekend" search function, which will find the best fares to a destination for a variety of weekends over a period of time, perfect for this weekend traveler! Instead of having to separately search for multiple weekends and compare prices, it does all the work for you! That means that I will be more likely to visit my brother in Ft. Lauderdale this fall, and maybe even squeeze in another trip to Vegas, and since my schedule is flexible, I will just go when it is cheapest!
If you're obsessive-compulsive about getting good deals on plane tickets like I am, then you might also like www.yapta.com, which tracks the prices of any flights you are watching or have purchased, and notifies you when the prices go down. You can see at a glance how the prices have changed, and if you've purchased a ticket and the price goes down significantly, Yapta gives you advice on how to get a refund from the airline, if possible. I find that airlines are being stingy about giving refunds these days, though. Virgin America wasn't too sympathetic when my recently purchased ticket went down $70 during their sale, but Jet Blue has awarded me flight credits for lowered fares in the past.
Also, be sure to check out the sale that Jet Blue and Virgin America are having right now.... I really wish I had waited to buy that wedding ticket...
Last of my flight-website shout-outs is www.airfarewatchdog.com. They post amazingly low deals each day found by real people, not computers, and you can stay ahead of the airlines' shenanigans such as checked-baggage fees and discontinued flight routes by reading their blog.
Happy traveling!
One of the best new features at kayak.com is the "weekend" search function, which will find the best fares to a destination for a variety of weekends over a period of time, perfect for this weekend traveler! Instead of having to separately search for multiple weekends and compare prices, it does all the work for you! That means that I will be more likely to visit my brother in Ft. Lauderdale this fall, and maybe even squeeze in another trip to Vegas, and since my schedule is flexible, I will just go when it is cheapest!
If you're obsessive-compulsive about getting good deals on plane tickets like I am, then you might also like www.yapta.com, which tracks the prices of any flights you are watching or have purchased, and notifies you when the prices go down. You can see at a glance how the prices have changed, and if you've purchased a ticket and the price goes down significantly, Yapta gives you advice on how to get a refund from the airline, if possible. I find that airlines are being stingy about giving refunds these days, though. Virgin America wasn't too sympathetic when my recently purchased ticket went down $70 during their sale, but Jet Blue has awarded me flight credits for lowered fares in the past.
Also, be sure to check out the sale that Jet Blue and Virgin America are having right now.... I really wish I had waited to buy that wedding ticket...
Last of my flight-website shout-outs is www.airfarewatchdog.com. They post amazingly low deals each day found by real people, not computers, and you can stay ahead of the airlines' shenanigans such as checked-baggage fees and discontinued flight routes by reading their blog.
Happy traveling!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I'm Back
I'm back from my reunion in Vegas, and I'm very, VERY tired. I didn't go to bed at all on Saturday night thanks to a rocking afterparty in a penthouse suite, and Sunday I spent all day going back and forth from the airport after a number of cancellations and delays left me and all of my friends stranded in Vegas (not a terrible place to be stranded, I might add). When I was finally confirmed on a flight, I arrived at the airport two hours early to be sure not to miss it and I was so tired from not having gone to bed the night before that I passed out at the gate and didn't wake up until the jetway door had already been shut. The agent had called my name over the loudspeaker five times, and was 10 seconds away from giving my seat to a standby passenger. HUGE PHEW. Spent yesterday recovering from the red-eye.
Financial summary of the weekend: not too bad! I had been OK with taking about $500 to play with (and probably lose), but in reality I was too busy catching up with old classmates to gamble, and my hour and a half at the craps table only cost me $75. Highlights include our reunion dinner at the Venetian, Cirque du Soleil Mystere at Treasure Island, and clubbing at Jet/after party at the Mirage. My only other expenses were taxis ($30-$40 total- those multiple trips to the airport added up! Luckily it's right off the strip and I was able to share rides), breakfast/lunch ($30 or so, because I forgot to eat on Sunday morning) and drinks (holy cow- almost $100 and I only bought one round!!). Drinks were uber expensive, and I'm used to NYC prices! $16 for red bull and vodka, and $6 for just plain soda water in a glass, out of the fountain sprayer! I was alternating alcoholic drinks with plain soda water, both to make it through the night without falling over, and to stick to my less-alcohol diet. I thought that would make my bar tab cheaper, but it was only marginally less.
All in all, I had a very fun time, even though I'm still extremely exhausted.
On another note, I just noticed today that airlines are having some price wars to multiple destinations, and the Virgin America flight I recently bought from San Fran to NYC for a wedding this fall is $70 cheaper :( Jet Blue will sometimes refund you via a flight credit if the price of your flight goes down within a certain period of time, so I called VA this morning and they said that they do not have any price guarantees, and cannot offer me flight credit for the $70. Oh well, I guess I timed that poorly (stupid sales!). I had watched the price go all the way up to $260, so when it came back down to $220, I wanted to act before prices went up again. Now it's offered for $150. BUMMER! Oh well, that's what I get for planning ahead. I just love myself a good flight sale, and it makes me sad when I miss them.
Flights to keep an eye on: NYC to RIC for a wedding in October; some flights currently being sold for $59 right now... if only I knew exactly when I need to be there for MOH duties, otherwise I'll pay even more to change my flight later.
Financial summary of the weekend: not too bad! I had been OK with taking about $500 to play with (and probably lose), but in reality I was too busy catching up with old classmates to gamble, and my hour and a half at the craps table only cost me $75. Highlights include our reunion dinner at the Venetian, Cirque du Soleil Mystere at Treasure Island, and clubbing at Jet/after party at the Mirage. My only other expenses were taxis ($30-$40 total- those multiple trips to the airport added up! Luckily it's right off the strip and I was able to share rides), breakfast/lunch ($30 or so, because I forgot to eat on Sunday morning) and drinks (holy cow- almost $100 and I only bought one round!!). Drinks were uber expensive, and I'm used to NYC prices! $16 for red bull and vodka, and $6 for just plain soda water in a glass, out of the fountain sprayer! I was alternating alcoholic drinks with plain soda water, both to make it through the night without falling over, and to stick to my less-alcohol diet. I thought that would make my bar tab cheaper, but it was only marginally less.
All in all, I had a very fun time, even though I'm still extremely exhausted.
On another note, I just noticed today that airlines are having some price wars to multiple destinations, and the Virgin America flight I recently bought from San Fran to NYC for a wedding this fall is $70 cheaper :( Jet Blue will sometimes refund you via a flight credit if the price of your flight goes down within a certain period of time, so I called VA this morning and they said that they do not have any price guarantees, and cannot offer me flight credit for the $70. Oh well, I guess I timed that poorly (stupid sales!). I had watched the price go all the way up to $260, so when it came back down to $220, I wanted to act before prices went up again. Now it's offered for $150. BUMMER! Oh well, that's what I get for planning ahead. I just love myself a good flight sale, and it makes me sad when I miss them.
Flights to keep an eye on: NYC to RIC for a wedding in October; some flights currently being sold for $59 right now... if only I knew exactly when I need to be there for MOH duties, otherwise I'll pay even more to change my flight later.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Vivaaaa Las Vegas!
My Monday post for next week will probably NOT include a spending summary of the weekend, as I'm going to Vegas, and the expenditures will be too absurd. I'm not sure where I got my gambling bone, as I don't think it was inherited (neither of my parents gamble, that I know of), but the thrill of risk/reward is just so much fun. Don't worry about this blogger- I don't gamble more than I can afford to lose, and I'm perfectly happy to walk away from the table when I'm done and not feel the urge to go to the ATM. (Walking away while I'm ahead is slightly more difficult!!)
I first learned how to play poker when I was interning in California as an engineer. I was the only female intern staying in a particular apartment complex, so to stay entertained, I had to hang with the guys, and that included Thursday poker night! I had never played, as I was a little bit intimidated by the rules and didn't want to look stupid in front of my new friends, but one patient teacher turned me into a poker machine. That summer also included some trips to Reno, Tahoe, and my first ever trip to Las Vegas, where I learned how to play roulette and craps. I don't play blackjack because I want to play it "right" and I've never taken the time to learn the proper rules, and I don't play roulette anymore b/c I think the odds are just TOO low (yes, I know they're ALWAYS against you, but...). Craps is my favorite casino game because it's very social, and there are some clever ways that you can hedge your bets. There are ways to stack the odds in your favor, but then you become very unpopular at the table because you're betting against everyone else, and that's just not fun. I taught a bunch of my sorority sisters how to play craps at a recent trip to Foxwoods, and now they're hooked ;) (They'll also be with me in Vegas-- so watch out!!)
NYC is about two hours from Atlantic City and about two and a half hours from Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun and now MGM in Connecticut, but there's nothing like Vegas! The reason for the trip is a college reunion (yes, we're so cool we go to VEGAS! hahaha), and so I bought these tickets back in March for $359, and while that's quite a bit, it's been the average as of late for direct flights to LAS from NYC. Airlines have been reducing the number of flights for this itinerary, which has contributed to the price increase. I bought tickets on Jet Blue/Virgin America to go back to Vegas in December and we paid about $350 direct RT, and that was the cheapest weekend this winter. I guess I won't be frequenting sin city as much as I'd like.
My flight is on Continental, which makes me a little bit sad because I don't think I'll be able to sleep on a 3:30pm flight, yet there will be no in-flight entertainment for me to enjoy, a la Jet Blue or Virgin America :( Continental had undercut them both enough to make a difference, thus I'll be visiting the bookstore before my flight.
Some prelim stats for the weekend:
Flight: $359
My share of hotel at MGM Grand: $103 for weekend
Event registration (includes dinner, a show, and who knows what else): $150
Yet to be determined:
Food, drinks (free on the gambling floor :P ), gambling losses
So, this weekend has already cost me $612 and that's only including one meal! Boy I hope breakfast is offered somewhere.
As for gambling, I think I am willing to lose up to $500. My last trip to Vegas cost me only $200 in losses (my tax refund arrived the day I went to Vegas!!! then I promply lost half of it :) ), and I actually won $100 at the craps table in San Juan this June. If I lose $500, oh well... and chances are that I'll probably be too busy at the pool/ in the club to actually gamble, so the actual loss could be a lot less. It is a reunion, after all, and I'd rather catch up with my homies.
I think it's interesting for me to be discussing my gambling habit on a PF blog, because I try to be super savvy when it comes to making the most out of my money, and then I'll go participate in an activity that is almost guaranteed to destroy my entire 'investment.' And speaking of investments, three of my colleagues gave me a little bit of cash for me to throw on the roulette table for them. I did warn them that they are not likely to ever see that money again :)
Wish me luck!!
I first learned how to play poker when I was interning in California as an engineer. I was the only female intern staying in a particular apartment complex, so to stay entertained, I had to hang with the guys, and that included Thursday poker night! I had never played, as I was a little bit intimidated by the rules and didn't want to look stupid in front of my new friends, but one patient teacher turned me into a poker machine. That summer also included some trips to Reno, Tahoe, and my first ever trip to Las Vegas, where I learned how to play roulette and craps. I don't play blackjack because I want to play it "right" and I've never taken the time to learn the proper rules, and I don't play roulette anymore b/c I think the odds are just TOO low (yes, I know they're ALWAYS against you, but...). Craps is my favorite casino game because it's very social, and there are some clever ways that you can hedge your bets. There are ways to stack the odds in your favor, but then you become very unpopular at the table because you're betting against everyone else, and that's just not fun. I taught a bunch of my sorority sisters how to play craps at a recent trip to Foxwoods, and now they're hooked ;) (They'll also be with me in Vegas-- so watch out!!)
NYC is about two hours from Atlantic City and about two and a half hours from Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun and now MGM in Connecticut, but there's nothing like Vegas! The reason for the trip is a college reunion (yes, we're so cool we go to VEGAS! hahaha), and so I bought these tickets back in March for $359, and while that's quite a bit, it's been the average as of late for direct flights to LAS from NYC. Airlines have been reducing the number of flights for this itinerary, which has contributed to the price increase. I bought tickets on Jet Blue/Virgin America to go back to Vegas in December and we paid about $350 direct RT, and that was the cheapest weekend this winter. I guess I won't be frequenting sin city as much as I'd like.
My flight is on Continental, which makes me a little bit sad because I don't think I'll be able to sleep on a 3:30pm flight, yet there will be no in-flight entertainment for me to enjoy, a la Jet Blue or Virgin America :( Continental had undercut them both enough to make a difference, thus I'll be visiting the bookstore before my flight.
Some prelim stats for the weekend:
Flight: $359
My share of hotel at MGM Grand: $103 for weekend
Event registration (includes dinner, a show, and who knows what else): $150
Yet to be determined:
Food, drinks (free on the gambling floor :P ), gambling losses
So, this weekend has already cost me $612 and that's only including one meal! Boy I hope breakfast is offered somewhere.
As for gambling, I think I am willing to lose up to $500. My last trip to Vegas cost me only $200 in losses (my tax refund arrived the day I went to Vegas!!! then I promply lost half of it :) ), and I actually won $100 at the craps table in San Juan this June. If I lose $500, oh well... and chances are that I'll probably be too busy at the pool/ in the club to actually gamble, so the actual loss could be a lot less. It is a reunion, after all, and I'd rather catch up with my homies.
I think it's interesting for me to be discussing my gambling habit on a PF blog, because I try to be super savvy when it comes to making the most out of my money, and then I'll go participate in an activity that is almost guaranteed to destroy my entire 'investment.' And speaking of investments, three of my colleagues gave me a little bit of cash for me to throw on the roulette table for them. I did warn them that they are not likely to ever see that money again :)
Wish me luck!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
June Spending and Expenses
I've just paid the credit card balances on my June/July statements and thought it might be interesting to disclose my largest expenses... for the record, I do use credit cards to rack up those reward points, but I never carry a balance unless I'm purposely using a 0% interest-card, for which I always pay the balance in full when the interest-free period ends.
Amtrak Guest Rewards Chase Mastercard, balance from 6/13 to 7/12 : $895
Selected items:
Wedding gift at Crate and Barrel: $65
Car rental for the wedding: $44
Gas for rental car: $19
Cable bill: $165 (roommate pays me half along with rent)
Charity donation for friends' fundraiser: $50 (matched by my employer!)
Bed, Bath & Beyond for curtains and rod: $54 (included $12 savings using a $10 off coupon and a 20% discount on the most expensive item)
Two Virgin America flights from Las Vegas to NYC (BF purchased the flights there): $358
Discover Cash Back Reward Card, balance from 5/26 to 6/25: $683
Selected items:
Mini shopping spree at H&M: $50
Furniture at Ikea: $121 (YIKES! I don't even remember what I bought!!!! All I remember was the salad spinner, and that only cost $4!!)
Fancy dress to wear at upcoming weddings: $183
Outlet shopping in Freeport, ME: $300 (got some great deals on hiking clothes, work clothes and some fun summer stuff, all of which I've already worn- ya!)
Champagne for bridal shower: $163 (Will be split with co-MOH)
Cheesecake Factory lunch w/ best girlfriends: $35
This adds up to more than my balance, because I also had a credit applied for a dress I returned at Bloomingdales. I immediately turned around and spent that money on the "fancy dress" listed above.
Other expenses:
Rent: Whole apartment is $2700/mo, my share is $1375 (I had to buy my old roommate out of her share of the furniture we bought together, so I'm charging my new roommate a slightly higher rent-share to compensate me for using all of my furniture. My old share was $1465, as my bedroom is considerably bigger.)
Furniture share: $420 (I paid her 40% of the half she paid for our furniture to account for depreciation)
Electricity: $99, split with roommate
Transportation to work: $5/day comes out to $100/mo
Oh- I just remembered that what I bought at Ikea: two large mirrors to hang in the living room, which I should have remembered more easily, since it took more more than an hour to them hang all by myself.
While I don't budget (yet), I have to say that it helps to type out all of these items myself, as it makes a bigger impact than just reading my statement. I spent way too much money on clothes last month, especially because I wear work clothes 5/7ths of my life and on the weekends I usually just go to some of my old favorites. As I've been traveling every weekend, I just stuff my favorites in my suitcase weekend after weekend and so the other items in my closet are being neglected. (I started a large donation pile to address this problem). Thus, I should not be buying so many casual clothes at H&M, Old Navy, etc.... they just won't get worn as often as they should to make them worth it. As my mom used to say, "anything that goes on your a$$ is not an a$$et!!"
I spent more than $400 on travel-related expenses this month. That's actually less than what I spend on travel/hotels/cars most months, because the hotel was free. I paid for a hotel stay in Puerto Rico, but it was in early June, thus was on an earlier CC statement.
Also to be noted are the expenses I DIDN'T have this month. My hotel stay for the wedding I went to was free, because I had stayed at that hotel last year on a ski trip and they totally botched our reservation, so I wrote them a polite complaint letter, and they sent me a free-stay voucher. Yeah! I didn't think I'd ever be up in that corner of the world again, but it's a good thing I saved the voucher b/c it was less than 10 miles from the wedding! (My mom's other favorite saying is, "Don't underestimate the power of the pen!") I saved $190 on the hotel. I also bought my flights via a Jet Blue sale (paid for on my May CC statement) and was even awarded 50 extra True Blue points for it because it was during a special promotion. YEAH!!
Goal for next month: LESS SPENDING ON CLOTHES! I do not need more clothes!!! I also do not feel the need to stay on the forefront of fashion, so there is no need for me to be constantly buying clothes. Plus, I will not be buying clothes right now until I lose another five pounds, so that I'm not left with clothes that are too big once I fit into all of my existing clothes again ;P Too much weekend eating on all of my crazy trips, I guess.
Amtrak Guest Rewards Chase Mastercard, balance from 6/13 to 7/12 : $895
Selected items:
Wedding gift at Crate and Barrel: $65
Car rental for the wedding: $44
Gas for rental car: $19
Cable bill: $165 (roommate pays me half along with rent)
Charity donation for friends' fundraiser: $50 (matched by my employer!)
Bed, Bath & Beyond for curtains and rod: $54 (included $12 savings using a $10 off coupon and a 20% discount on the most expensive item)
Two Virgin America flights from Las Vegas to NYC (BF purchased the flights there): $358
Discover Cash Back Reward Card, balance from 5/26 to 6/25: $683
Selected items:
Mini shopping spree at H&M: $50
Furniture at Ikea: $121 (YIKES! I don't even remember what I bought!!!! All I remember was the salad spinner, and that only cost $4!!)
Fancy dress to wear at upcoming weddings: $183
Outlet shopping in Freeport, ME: $300 (got some great deals on hiking clothes, work clothes and some fun summer stuff, all of which I've already worn- ya!)
Champagne for bridal shower: $163 (Will be split with co-MOH)
Cheesecake Factory lunch w/ best girlfriends: $35
This adds up to more than my balance, because I also had a credit applied for a dress I returned at Bloomingdales. I immediately turned around and spent that money on the "fancy dress" listed above.
Other expenses:
Rent: Whole apartment is $2700/mo, my share is $1375 (I had to buy my old roommate out of her share of the furniture we bought together, so I'm charging my new roommate a slightly higher rent-share to compensate me for using all of my furniture. My old share was $1465, as my bedroom is considerably bigger.)
Furniture share: $420 (I paid her 40% of the half she paid for our furniture to account for depreciation)
Electricity: $99, split with roommate
Transportation to work: $5/day comes out to $100/mo
Oh- I just remembered that what I bought at Ikea: two large mirrors to hang in the living room, which I should have remembered more easily, since it took more more than an hour to them hang all by myself.
While I don't budget (yet), I have to say that it helps to type out all of these items myself, as it makes a bigger impact than just reading my statement. I spent way too much money on clothes last month, especially because I wear work clothes 5/7ths of my life and on the weekends I usually just go to some of my old favorites. As I've been traveling every weekend, I just stuff my favorites in my suitcase weekend after weekend and so the other items in my closet are being neglected. (I started a large donation pile to address this problem). Thus, I should not be buying so many casual clothes at H&M, Old Navy, etc.... they just won't get worn as often as they should to make them worth it. As my mom used to say, "anything that goes on your a$$ is not an a$$et!!"
I spent more than $400 on travel-related expenses this month. That's actually less than what I spend on travel/hotels/cars most months, because the hotel was free. I paid for a hotel stay in Puerto Rico, but it was in early June, thus was on an earlier CC statement.
Also to be noted are the expenses I DIDN'T have this month. My hotel stay for the wedding I went to was free, because I had stayed at that hotel last year on a ski trip and they totally botched our reservation, so I wrote them a polite complaint letter, and they sent me a free-stay voucher. Yeah! I didn't think I'd ever be up in that corner of the world again, but it's a good thing I saved the voucher b/c it was less than 10 miles from the wedding! (My mom's other favorite saying is, "Don't underestimate the power of the pen!") I saved $190 on the hotel. I also bought my flights via a Jet Blue sale (paid for on my May CC statement) and was even awarded 50 extra True Blue points for it because it was during a special promotion. YEAH!!
Goal for next month: LESS SPENDING ON CLOTHES! I do not need more clothes!!! I also do not feel the need to stay on the forefront of fashion, so there is no need for me to be constantly buying clothes. Plus, I will not be buying clothes right now until I lose another five pounds, so that I'm not left with clothes that are too big once I fit into all of my existing clothes again ;P Too much weekend eating on all of my crazy trips, I guess.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Weekend Spending
If you haven't read my intro yet, you will soon learn that I travel, a lot. Therefore, my weekend spending stats will usually be a bit high, as I don't have access to the "free" food and amenities in my apartment.
Beginning with Friday night:
*Gift purchased for best friend's birthday: $76
*Tickets to Billy Joel's Shea Stadium closing concert: FREE!
(They were a gift!! An amazing gift, and we got to see Paul McCartney sneak onto the stage for the encore!! Paul performed at the first ever show at Shea with the Beatles, and so it was only fitting that he appear at the last)
*LIRR tickets to/from Shea, two beers, and a water: BF ("B") paid, probably $35
*Cab from Penn to my apt. at 1am: $15 w/tip
Saturday:
*Cab BACK to Penn at 6:30am: $15 w/tip
*Two AMTRAK train tickets to Washington D.C.: $168
*Two Krispy Kreme donuts and a water at Penn Station (my favorite thing about taking morning trains) : $4
*Two 1-day passes on the D.C. Metro: $15.60
*Lunch: FREE thanks to my best friend and her fiance, who packed us lunches
*Admission to National Archives and Portrait Gallery Museums: FREE!
*Dinner at Mexican tapas-style restaurant including two beers, for two, w/tip: $62
(On a side note, you'll be happy to know that one of our friends took the time to figure out the bill for seven people, rather than split it seven ways. Even though I may have had more than my fair share of guac ;) See J. Money's post on splitting checks- I got lucky, even though the check-tackler spent 15 minutes determining everyone's share)
*Two tickets to D.C. United soccer game: $84
*Drinks at the United game: $6.50 for my beer, and who knows how many B had.
Sunday:
*Newly acquired Costco card: FREE w/Dad's Business Membership (the most exciting acquisition of the weekend!!!! I love COSTCO!!!)
*Flintstones Vitamins and Neutrogena Sunscreen at Costco: $26
*North Face tight-rolling, low-temperature sleeping bag for the camping trips B wants to take, and small sleeping pad: FREE! w/ Dad's Bass Pro credit card reward points. Retail: $125
*Three tickets to watch the Baltimore Orioles lose to the Tigers: FREE w/ Dad's season tickets
*Crabcake, diet coke, and water at the stadium: $20.75 (They serve crabcakes at Camden Yards now!! I'm also in trouble b/c I didn't share it with B, oops)
*Two AMTRAK tickets back to NYC: FREE w/the reward points from my Amtrak Mastercard (~$200 value)
*Chinese take-out for two upon getting home: $32
Yikes. Including travel (half of which was free!) and not including the free items I got at Bass Pro and the Oriole's tix compliments of my dad, the two of us, together, spent over $500. No wonder my savings account is growing so slowly. But, I insist on traveling to be with the people I love (I was primarily visiting my two best friends who both had birthdays this past week).
A few notes on some of the expenditures:
I usually take the subway to reasonable destinations from my apartment, but if it's really late at night or super early in the morning, I usually splurge on a cab to be safe, and to save precious sleep time. I live a good 8-10 minute walk from the subway, so when you add in the time spent waiting for trains or transfers, I can easily save 30-40 minutes by spending $10. I tend to value the cost of my time, since I work such long hours and don't have too much time for myself in the first place.
Bass Pro: my dad's obsession... has been paying off for me lately, too. My dad has a Bass Pro credit card, and he uses it to make many of the purchases he needs for his office, which is sometimes upward of $100k for fancy equipment. I think he earns 1% towards purchases at the store (and 4% on purchases made IN the store), which translates to thousands of dollars in credit at Bass Pro. I think he's saving up for a boat or some other pricey purchase, but it's going to take him a while if he keeps taking me there to go shopping! He is very generous with his points and I think it makes him happy when I find something there that I need. On my last trip I got a pair of hard-soled hiking boots that I really needed, an air mattress w/ portable pump, and some North Face hiking pants... FREE! And then just yesterday I scored the sleeping bag I would need to go hiking/camping at Lake Placid later this summer. Every year he takes me there onChristmas Eve and basically tells me to get whatever I want... haha... and that's about all I'll get. At least he's found a reward program that works for him.
Speaking of reward programs, B and I were able to travel from Baltimore to New York for free because of all my spending on my Amtrak Guest Rewards Mastercard. I also have a Discover Card that I like to use for 5% cash-back categories, but I think I get great bang for my buck earning Amtrak tickets, because they're not cheap!
*Average cost of my Amtrak tickets: $100 (usually purchased last minute)
*Dollars spent to earn the ticket: $3000 (translates into 3,000 points, plus I earn some extra points by shopping online through their website)
*Approximate return on spending: 3.3%! Score! Now I don't feel bad about waiting until the last minute to get tickets.
I've found it really hard lately to use the flight rewards I've earned directly from the airlines (as opposed to earning them on a credit card). For example, I took advantage of some Jet Blue promotions and I fly them a lot in general, so I've earned a few free tickets, but while planning my trip to San Francisco for a wedding, I discovered that they are not as easy to use as they used to be. Thus, I'm happy with my Amtrak rewards because they're straightforward and easy to redeem, even though there are some holiday black-outs.
I'm curious- what credit card reward programs do YOU find useful? Do you stick with cash back?
Friday, July 18, 2008
Airplane ticket #166
I've done it again, purchased yet ANOTHER plane ticket. I don't think I have had a credit card cycle all year in which I haven't purchased at least one round-trip ticket. I've already earned one Jet Blue round trip ticket and am well on my way to another. JFK is my home airport, so Jet Blue is my airline of choice, and while they tend to be the cheapest, I will still pay for their service and in-flight TV for up to $20 more than the next-cheapest airline if they are not the best deal. I consider this to be the price of entertainment value, as well as an investment towards free flights via my Jet Blue points.
My usual style of purchasing tickets is that I A) develop an urge to go somewhere or B) have a real reason to go somewhere (i.e. wedding, event), I find the best flight, and I try to grab it before prices go up. My favorite travel search engine is Kayak.com- it's simple and you can change all kinds of parameters to compare only the flights you want. (I've become picky about travel times and layovers since my weekends are short) Sometimes I watch fares for a while, but I'm of the camp that believes in "first price is the best price." Not always the case- flight prices do tend to fluctuate. My experience with Jet Blue is that if the price drops by more than $20 after you purchase the flight, they will award you the difference in flight credit to use for future flights. Given the current state of airline penny-pinching, I don't know how willing they are to do this anymore, but it's happened for me twice in the past.
In regards to the ticket I just bought, it involved some cost/time/convenience analysis.
I used a Jet Blue reward voucher to book a ticket to San Francisco the Thursday night before a Friday night wedding. (You can now split Jet Blue rewards into two one-way tickets) I know a lot of people in the Bay area, so I decided that rather than leave on Saturday, I would like to leave on Sunday so that I can visit some people and maybe go out on Saturday night. Having taken half a dozen red-eyes back to NYC from the west coast this year already, I decided early that I did not want to fly out Sunday night. Unfortunately, the only flight leaving the Bay area for which I could use my other one-way Jet Blue reward (OK I love Jet Blue but I hate how difficult they have made it to redeem rewards lately!) was a Sunday morning flight out of San Jose with a connection in Long Beach that would add about 2.5 hours to my travel time. San Jose is not convenient to either of the possible locations I would be staying (either with a friend in Oakland or in SF), nor could I get there using BART, and I like to be self-reliant rather than make a friend drive all the way out there super early in the morning. I found a flight on Virgin America (love airlines with in-flight entertainment) for $220 that left SFO slightly earlier in the morning, which means I could get back to NYC with some time to unwind, and get myself to the airport if necessary. I tracked the VA flight for a couple of weeks and watched it go up to $270, so when it came back down to $220, I felt the need to decide quickly.
Summary of options:
Free flight, inconvenient airport (might cost me $50 in cab fare to get there if no one can take me), extra 2.5 hours with layover
$220 flight, convenient airport, direct with an early-ish return to NYC.
Conclusion: I chose the $220 flight. I can save the voucher for another time, even if the flight value may not be as high as this cross-country one, but any added expense of getting to an inconvenient airport probably compensates for this fact.
My usual style of purchasing tickets is that I A) develop an urge to go somewhere or B) have a real reason to go somewhere (i.e. wedding, event), I find the best flight, and I try to grab it before prices go up. My favorite travel search engine is Kayak.com- it's simple and you can change all kinds of parameters to compare only the flights you want. (I've become picky about travel times and layovers since my weekends are short) Sometimes I watch fares for a while, but I'm of the camp that believes in "first price is the best price." Not always the case- flight prices do tend to fluctuate. My experience with Jet Blue is that if the price drops by more than $20 after you purchase the flight, they will award you the difference in flight credit to use for future flights. Given the current state of airline penny-pinching, I don't know how willing they are to do this anymore, but it's happened for me twice in the past.
In regards to the ticket I just bought, it involved some cost/time/convenience analysis.
I used a Jet Blue reward voucher to book a ticket to San Francisco the Thursday night before a Friday night wedding. (You can now split Jet Blue rewards into two one-way tickets) I know a lot of people in the Bay area, so I decided that rather than leave on Saturday, I would like to leave on Sunday so that I can visit some people and maybe go out on Saturday night. Having taken half a dozen red-eyes back to NYC from the west coast this year already, I decided early that I did not want to fly out Sunday night. Unfortunately, the only flight leaving the Bay area for which I could use my other one-way Jet Blue reward (OK I love Jet Blue but I hate how difficult they have made it to redeem rewards lately!) was a Sunday morning flight out of San Jose with a connection in Long Beach that would add about 2.5 hours to my travel time. San Jose is not convenient to either of the possible locations I would be staying (either with a friend in Oakland or in SF), nor could I get there using BART, and I like to be self-reliant rather than make a friend drive all the way out there super early in the morning. I found a flight on Virgin America (love airlines with in-flight entertainment) for $220 that left SFO slightly earlier in the morning, which means I could get back to NYC with some time to unwind, and get myself to the airport if necessary. I tracked the VA flight for a couple of weeks and watched it go up to $270, so when it came back down to $220, I felt the need to decide quickly.
Summary of options:
Free flight, inconvenient airport (might cost me $50 in cab fare to get there if no one can take me), extra 2.5 hours with layover
$220 flight, convenient airport, direct with an early-ish return to NYC.
Conclusion: I chose the $220 flight. I can save the voucher for another time, even if the flight value may not be as high as this cross-country one, but any added expense of getting to an inconvenient airport probably compensates for this fact.
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