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AA introduces Basic Economy: No Frills, less bills.
American Airlines sent out notification emails today regarding their new Basic Economy class. It is no frills, no fuss, board last, hope you don’t like choice, changes, seat selection, overhead bin space, BUT it saves you cold cash. Everyone values things differently, and this new basic economy class favors the frugal and those looking for a deal. Nothing wrong with that in my book. AA introduces basic economy.
The Email:
You’ll save some bucks, but you’ll forgo some options and perks. Funny, what some of us have come to expect or need will now be reframed as a perk.
Here’s the breakdown on the AA website. No overhead bin space, upgrades, changes, seat selection, and yep you’re going on Last. Starts in late Feb.
If you’d like to select a seat…you can within 48 hours of departure and for a fee.
But Elites and premium credit card members will get a few perks: Priority boarding, overhead bin space, and checked bags. But…no seat selection without a fee.
EQD still based on fare, but EQM + EQS are reduced to 0.5 mile/flight segment
So that’s Basic Economy or in other words: Here’s your middle seat, next to the bathroom and hurry up cause we’re closing the door. 😉 I’d recommend equipping yourself like this 🙂
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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