I have a Nordstrom Visa card which carries a fairly low foreign transaction fees and my perk is a $20 certificate for 2,000 points earned (2 points per $1 for Nordstrom purchases and 1 point per $1 on everything else). I found an expired Nordstrom $20 certificate today and called Nordstorm credit card to see if they can send me a replacement. I spoke to a representative, then a supervisor and neither budged. I even told them that I would cancel my card and they did not seem to care. On principle I am going to stop using this card.

Another lesson learned from this experience is not to age anything - points, certificates, etc. This sentence is actually directed to the Coach who loves to save his points

Now I have an empty credit card slot in my wallet and want to know the community’s recommendations for which is the best Visa or MasterCard to serve as my backup to my SPG AMEX. I’m leaning towards one of the Chase Visa cards at the moment.

I recently received an email from USAir asking for $9 to reinstate my USAir miles. I quickly paid and got my 72,810 miles back! For those who needs to keep their USAir Dividend Miles account active, I strongly recommend you get a magazine here: USAir Dividend Miles Redemption Options

Alternative you can bank your rental car activities to your USAir Dividend Miles account. However you’ll have to pay a small mileage deposit fee to the car rental company. Here’s a previous post regarding how you can avoid paying the frequent flyer mileage charges on your rental.

1. Sign up to a call forwarding service provider like: One Suite for a monthly fee ($2.95). The call forwarding service provider (One Suite) will assign you a US number that can be routed to any number in the world for a very low fee (i.e., no more than US$0.05 per minute).

2. Forward your US mobile number to the routing service provider.

There are two types of call forwarding services in the US:  unconditional (*72) and conditional (*68 or *28). Unconditional call forwarding means all calls will go to the forwarded number and may carry extra charges by your mobile carrier (I know Sprint charges $0.20 per minute). I recommend conditioning call forwarding (when there’s no answer or a busy signal) which is free and works just as well to avoid extra charges.

To forward your call using conditional forwarding, enter *68[415-867-5309] where 415-867-5309 is the number you received from your call forwarding service provider. This will tell your current mobile carrier to forward all your calls to 415-867-5309 when there’s a busy signal or no answer. Your phone will be considered “off” by your mobile carrier which means all your calls will be forwarded to the call forwarding number. If you are on the Sprint or Nextel network, you will need to use:  *28 instead of 68. If you’re on Verizon, you may have to use *71.

Click on this link for more information on call forwarding codes.

NOTE:   Execute this step before you leave the US so you are not incurring voice roaming charges while abroad.

3. When you’re abroad, purchase a pre-paid SIM card from a local carrier. Login to your call forwarding service provider’s website and forward the assigned number [415-867-5309] to the pre-paid SIM card [+52-55-9876-5432] you have just purchased.

Below is a diagram to illustrate the three simple steps.

This process may seem a bit complicated compared to a service like Skype. However it is reliable and you don’t need to give out another US number to your current contacts. The rates are also very affordable and it’s the easiest way to keep your US number while you’re traveling abroad.

When you’ve returned from your trip, simply go on your phone and hit *81 or *38 (for Sprint) to deactivate unconditional forwarding mode.

I’m on AT&T and totally forgot about this.  I ordered the new iPhone 5 to replace my AT&T iPhone 4.  AT&T actually has a page spelling out the eligibility of unlocking your iphone here.  I put my request in a few days before I got my iPhone 5.  However, I received and activated my iphone 5 before AT&T replied back to my unlock inquiry.

The sad news from AT&T, they only unlock your eligible iPhone ONLY if it’s still active.  After calling and trying at local AT&T stores, AT&T refused to unlock my old iPhone 4 because it is no longer “active” on the AT&T network.

Reminder, unlock your old iPhone 4 or 4S first before activating your new iPhone 5!

Luckily, you can go to eBay and buy an iPhone unlock service as low as $15!  All you need is to give them your IMEI number, and they set you up.  You restore your phone on itunes and there it is unlocked.  Feel free to use your phone internationally, sell it for $50-$100 more, or give it to friend or family to use on any carrier.

1.  Charlotte Douglas International Airport — Aside from rain during hurricane season, Charlotte, North Carolina has decent weather so you’ll not have to be concerned about being stuck. CLT is a USAir hub with gates that are fairly close to one another. USAir does a pretty good job managing connecting flights and making sure your gates are close together. If you’re switching airlines, you do not need to go through security screening from terminal to terminal. Finally, CLT has a decent food court.

2.  Salt Lake City International Airport – Like CLT, SLC is pretty efficient where all terminals are connected. Salt Lake City doesn’t have much delays compared to Denver if you are choosing a connecting flight in the mountain region. SLC is great for Delta flights as it is their secondary hub.

3.  Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport – Although PHX is huge but weather is always on your side. You’ll never be delayed due to weather. Have ever you heard of bad weather in Phoenix? Ever? The downside to PHX is having to go from Gate A26 to B25 (see below) which is quite a walk. The trick is to look for one of the gate cart agents to give you a ride. Just tip the driver a few bucks and he’ll get you from gate to gate in a matter of minutes. PHX also has free WiFi service.

4.  Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson – Despite being one of the busiest airport in the US, I have never had any issues connecting in ATL. ATL’s terminal tram system is also fast compared to other tram systems (i.e., Denver, Houston, etc.).

5.  Las Vegas McCarran. This is probably the best place to be stuck if you missed a connection. LAS has are plenty of machines (video poker, Wheel of Fortune, etc.) to keep you busy while you wait for your connection. If you’re stuck overnight, go try your luck on the Strip. In addition, almost every major airline has a non stop flight out of LAS. So worst case scenario is for you to bring your cancelled flight ticket to another airline and beg them to let you on their plane.

For more information about our point of view on airports, here’s a list of the Top 5 Worst Airports in the US and the Top 5 Airports in America.

While Detroit (DTW) is a perfectly fine airport and getting from gate A1 to A77 is a surprisingly easy affair when utilizing the indoor tram, getting from Concourse A to Concourse C requires no less than several sherpas and a dune buggy.  On a recent layover (connections on the same airline) I had 32 minutes to get from an A gate to a C gate.  Only for the providence of a flight delay did I make my flight.

So I have three questions for this community:

1. Can flight aggregators better predict sufficient layover times based on historical gate placement of flights?

2. What is generally the right time threshold for a layover?  45 min?

3. What airports are your personal torments when it comes to bad layovers?  (ORD, LAX and ATL are too obvious)

As a business person, sometimes we can’t use our personal cards and have to use a business card.  The most popular question I get is:

Do you have to use your MileagePlus credit card when buying United tickets to obtain the benefits?

The answer is NO!

I routinely purchase my United flights with my business credit card via the United/Continental Website.   I have my MileagePlus Explorer card stored into my profile, but I change my personal card to my business card upon clicking on “Purchase.”  Since the MileagePlus Explorer card is in my profile, I still get the United MileagePlus Explorer benefits of free baggage and earlier boarding.  Unfortunately I do not get the extra points as that would be a great loophole!

I recommend getting the Vietnam visa from Hong Kong where it is processed faster than the US. To get the Vietnam visa while you’re in Hong Kong, just go into the Vietnamese consulate located in Wan Chai. You do not need an appointment and the form is very simple. You will need one passport size picture which you can take at any nearby photo shop in Hong Kong.

The fee to process an expedited / same day Vietnam tourist visa from the Vietnamese consulate in Hong Kong is HKD500 (around USD 65). Since the tourist visa is a single entry, one month visa, be sure you tell the Vietnamese consulate your exact date of entry as they will use that date on the tourist visa. The Vietnamese consulate in Hong Kong processes visa from 10am to 1pm local time. In my case, I went to the office at 11:15am and received my Vietnam Tourist visa at 11:45am.

Furthering my previous post regarding United counting partner miles towards United’s MileagePlus Million Miler Program, it seems like United is only performing a one-time true-up to count all partner miles toward the Million Miler Program as a part of the Continental merger. I have flown USAir and Lufthansa flights after the merger and banked my flight miles to my United MileagePlus account. The PQM (Premier Qualifying Miles) showed up on my account but was counted toward my Million Miler miles. I have heard from others where their Lufthansa miles were counted towards United’s Million Miler Program.

After reviewing United’s Lifetime Flight Miles section of the Million Miler Program website, I came to the following conclusion regards what flight miles count toward the Million Miler program:

1.  You must be on a United or Copa flight.

2.  You must purchase the ticket on United with a United Airlines flight number even though it is operated by another carrier. For example, you purchased on United a round trip ticket from JFK to FRA where the outbound is a United fight and the return is a co-shared Lufthansa flight.

For sure, United does not count the following flight miles toward its Million Miler Program:

1.  Flights operated by USAir (which is its competitor in the US).

2.  Flights operated by Star Alliance partners that does not originate or return to the US. For example, a Singapore Airline flight from HKG to SIN.

Please share your experiences, thoughts and suggestions with us.

Having lived in most of the major cities in the US, and even some major ones in Europe, I have always enjoyed dining at the top restaurants those cities had to offer. It struck me that, while I have never had a problem getting into restaurants I love, my friends have not been as lucky. Sometimes it was through my connections that I was able to get a table, but most times it was just through smart planning. Here are five tips on how to get that table at the current “it” spot:1.  Sometimes, smaller is better — This should be obvious, but trying to secure a table for a large party at Per Se in New York City isn’t going to work.

2. Reservations open 30 days in advance for most US restaurants — Pre-planning has never been so important. Some exclusive restaurants open reservations 2 weeks in advance, others are 60 days, and some go up to 1 year; but a majority are 30 days. Make sure you call the restaurant on that exact day when the reservation opens or you may not get your spot!

3.  Avoid rush hour and prime days — Most people tend to want to eat at restaurants between 7:00 to 9:00PM, and the prime dining evenings are usually Wednesday through Saturday. If you are flexible, dining during the off hours is a great way to get into that hot restaurant. This is a good strategy for those on vacations, who usually have more flexibility on their eating times.

4.  Walk-in accepted — Don’t be afraid to walk into a hot/hip restaurant if you are a couple or by yourself. You’d be surprised at the number of times I was able to get seated using this strategy, without suffering through a long wait. Most exclusive restaurants would accept walk-in patrons.

5.  Take advantage of the concierge — If you are staying at a top quality hotel, this is by far the best strategy. If you are trying to get into a tough restaurant, and you are flexible with day and time, you would be surprised at the amount of “pull” that the concierge service has. Some restaurants reserve tables specifically for those favorite concierges who consistently make reservations with them. Note though, that while they can pull off reservation miracles at times, you shouldn’t expect to show up on Friday morning and get a reservation at Nobu New York that very same evening at 8:00PM!