My in-laws came to visit us in Hawaii last January and it was really nice. They are very truly nice people. However, I get frustrated when they continue to fail at travel rewards.
Alaska Airlines has an annual companion fare (buy one get one) with their credit card and Hawaii in included. I tried to talk them into getting the card before their trip, but they refused. A typical fare from Denver to Kauai is $700. If you have the companion fare you only spend $50 in airport fees for the 2nd flight. As a result, the companion fare is worth about $650.
When they arrived in Hawaii, they told us they signed up for the credit card at the airport because they didn't want to pay $50 each way in bag fees. They were very proud of their $100 savings, but I just kept shaking my head on why they said no to the $650 savings.
In order to get the companion fare, you need to spend $1,000 over the first 3 months. My wife asked them if they got their companion fare yet and they said they didn't qualify because they didn't spend the $1,000 over the first 3 months. Their grocery and gas spending is at least $600/month.
Does anyone else have older relatives that are really bad at travel rewards? It's super frustrating.
