Airline pilots- what’s the best Hotel Advantage points/Credit cards? (hacks)
Posted by smross73@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 35 comments
I want to maximize money as a commuter
airgroundpound69@reddit
Hilton middle tier card can be useful with its $50 statement credit, had several stays where I ate at the hotel restaurant on a layover and the whole meal was free cause of that
No-Park-620@reddit
Can confirm. Love this card. No airport lounge but I dont care about that
airgroundpound69@reddit
My hot take is the lounges are trash and horrifically overpriced, unless you are an alcoholic
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
It’s all about the feels. People eat it up. Most of the Amex lounges are pure comedy for 10 reasons.
Raccoon_Ratatouille@reddit
And airport food isn’t horrifically overpriced? My last airport meal was a cold grab and go sandwich, chips and a bottled drink and it was over $35. My second most recent meal with my wife and 3 glasses of wine each was $250. In a lounge that is $0.
My $700 United card gets me 50+ meals, so even if I didn’t use a single other perk besides the free food and drinks that comes out to $14 a meal. Good luck beating that at an airport!
OzrielArelius@reddit
the rest of us spend $15-20 on airport food and don't buy ridiculously overpriced drinks
No-Park-620@reddit
Agreed to an extent. Personal travel Id rather get some overpriced food and drink and wait at an airport restaurant. I only do big trips about 3-4 times so its worth the hassle. Plus lounge lines are ridiculous since its not longer “exclusive” everyone has a platinum card.
estarrr@reddit
I have this card and on my Hilton app it says “stay 40 nights and you’ll earn 10,000 bonus points, plus another 10,000 every additional 10 nights”. Not sure if that’s a personalized offer but although my airline’s contract with the hotel does not give me Hilton Gold benefits during the stay, I can still accumulate stay credit towards the 40 nights.
No-Park-620@reddit
Yeah this is what I do. Accumulate stay credit from Hilton while working. Spend of on the card for daily use. Use the benefits on personal travel. Plus its an amex so lots of other benefits on that front.
Ok-Money2811@reddit
The one you won’t be in debt when the furloughs happen.
Ok-Money2811@reddit
Must be all the 20 something airline pilots downvoting who have never been through the inevitable eventuality of this industry’s downturns…your time will come.
69pylote@reddit
Furloughs have nothing to do with the question asked. Lol.
YaKkO221@reddit
Marriott Bonvoy AMEX and I can’t be convinced otherwise. Can’t remember the last time my wife and I paid for a hotel…
Raccoon_Ratatouille@reddit
Get a hotel credit card for whatever hotel chain you stay at the most, at a tier that gets you into a lounge for free breakfast, snacks, drinks, etc.
Get an airline credit card for whatever airline you fly the most on, especially if you can use the lounges while you’re non-reving and don’t have a confirmed boarding pass. That makes the stress of standby travel a lot easier when the worst case scenario is you go back to the lounge and chill till the next flight.
Nyaos@reddit
Which lounges let you stay without a boarding pass?
My guess is the secondary ones you get through priority pass but I don’t know for sure on that.
DoThatPilotShit@reddit
American’s Admirals club lets you in with the QR code from travel planner without having a seat yet.
prex10@reddit
Standby, positive space, company business, jump seat, regular ticket listings get you into United clubs.
A lot of guys just make a fake listing to get in.
Legitimate_Box_7803@reddit
Refundables FTW.
cbrookman@reddit
Alaska lounge memberships work with a standby boarding pass.
Rightrudder74@reddit
I’m reading this in EWR C-1 United club with a puffy zipped up over my uniform
SavingsPirate4495@reddit
Be advised…..just because you stay at your rewards hotel, Marriot property, e.g., does not mean you will get points for your stay. I don’t recall ONE domestic hotel that gave “stay points”. At least for whom I flew (now retired).
Reason why, the contract rate with the company was very low and the hotel pretty much stated that with that low rate, they were unable to give the flight crews credit for the stay. If you bought stuff and charged it to your room, however, you DID get those points.
YMMV…
Desperate_Exercise13@reddit
Pick Hilton or Marriott and get the CC. Be very loyal in your bookings to get status. Enjoy the status on trips.
Diver_Driver@reddit
Its all about what you need. Where do you stay and who do you primarily fly on? What lounges are available at your primary airports.
My trifecta:
Capital One Venture X - To maximize points on daily purchases. Access to Capital One Lounges. Flexible points redemption and transfer to multiple partners.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant - For free breakfast at layover hotels and lounge access (we stay at a ton of Marriott properties). Platinum Elite status is nice and can be helpful getting upgrades and late check out when staying for personal travel. Points can be transferred to United MP.
United Club Card - For lounge access (personal travel or non rev) - Can bring the whole family in. Boarding group 2 when buying a seat. Higher point earn and sometimes discounted Polaris seats when using points.
Matuteg@reddit
My trifecta is
CSR (have a Sapphire lounge in my base) and the credits work out great for me. Also much better point redemption than Amex and value.
Hilton, the higher tier with Diamond benefits. My points multiply pretty well.
United card (for the cheapest mile redemptions on miles for when I wanna do Polaris for sure)
prex10@reddit
Are you a Hilton guy? Get a Hilton card.
Are you a Marriott guy? Get Marriott card
imav8n@reddit
Are you a “whichever is available” guy - get both. If you are responsible with your credit cards, then it doesn’t hurt to have one of each
skunimatrix@reddit
Just get an Amex Gold or Platinum and have status with both.
Nyaos@reddit
Does the free version of hotel cards actually get you stuff? I never considered that.
prex10@reddit
I get points for every day purchases on my free Hilton card. You get points every time you book too.
skunimatrix@reddit
Amex Gold. Get mid tier with both Hilton and Marriott. Maybe Platinum for lounge access depending on where you fly.
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
The answer hasn't changed since the last 1,000 times this question was addressed. Get the card that suits your needs and desires.
Oregon-Pilot@reddit
Wells Fargo Autograph Journey is the one I landed on after a ton of research. I commute one leg to my base, and spend a lot of my disposable income on traveling and eating out. $95 per year, so MUCH lower than many of the others. And they don’t force you to use their overpriced portals either.
5X points with hotels
4X points with airlines
3X points on restaurants and other travel
Used to have Chase Sapphire Reserve but then they got rid of the $27 meal credit, jacked the price way up, changed their rules to require you to use their portal if you wanted the big multipliers, and Priority Pass lounges generally just fucking suck.
notagreatpilot@reddit
As a netjets pilot? I have both Amex gold and platinum cards for the food and lounge benefits. Once I get to a regional both will be cancelled cause as an airline pilot you ARE the advantage hack…
ApatheticSkyentist@reddit
I have a Marriott and United card.
I’m a part 91 guy.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I want to maximize money as a commuter
Please downvote this comment until it collapses.
Questions about this comment? Please see this wiki post before contacting the mods.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please contact the mods of this subreddit.