Citi ThankYou Premier 40,000 Point Sign Up Bonus Returns!

The Citi ThankYou Premier Card is once again offering 40,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Citi dropped the sign up bonus on the ThankYou Premier Card earlier this year, and since April the card has had no sign up bonus whatsoever.

What to Do With Leftover ThankYou Points if Canceling Prestige or Premier

Citi issues lots of cards that earn ThankYou Points, but not all of them earn a type of Thank You Point that can be transferred to airline and hotel loyalty programs partners like the Citi Prestige and Premier cards do.

Rentler: Pay Rent on a Credit Card With 2.5% Fee

We received a tip from a reader to check out Rentler, a platform connecting landlords and tenants that (among other things) allows you to pay rent on your credit card with a 2.5% processing fee.

You can make payments via bank transfer or debit card as well:

But it's obviously the credit card payments that interest us.
How Rentler Works
Both landlord and tenant need an account on Rentler in order to process the payment. Here's more info for tenants, and here's more info for landlords. Looks pretty simple to set up.

Alaska Airlines and Delta End Partnership Effective May 1, 2017

Delta and Alaska Airlines are ending their partnership May 1, 2017.

There will be no more codeshares, no more mileage earning on each other's flights, no more reciprocal elite benefits, and no more redeeming miles on each other's flights.

There is some grace period if you already booked your flight.
Delta SkyMiles Members will be able to earn and redeem miles on flights operated by Alaska Airlines through April 30, 2017.

1 Virgin America Point = 1.3 Alaska Miles, 1 SPG = 1.625 Alaska

Virgin America and Alaska Airlines have merged.

Starting January 9, 2017, you can link your Alaska Mileage Plan and Virgin America Elevate accounts. Then you can transfer 1 Virgin America points to 1.3 Alaska miles.

That is almost exactly the fair ratio in my opinion.

Change to United Free One Way Rules

You can no longer tack on an Excursionist perk, the essentially free segment within one region that United gives you on a "roundtrip", to the end of an itinerary any more.

My Disappointing Trip to the Lufthansa First Class Terminal

Update 1/1/17: I've added a video of the ground experience to the end of this post

Recently I flew from Croatia to the United States in Lufthansa First Class for 40,000 Starpoints + $300. Here’s how I booked the award.

Trip Report: Lufthansa First Class Lounge in Munich
Trip Report: Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt (this post)
Trip Report: Lufthansa 747-8 First Class Frankfurt to Washington-Dulles (future post)

After a one hour flight from Munich, I arrived in Frankfurt at a remote stand.

I’ve Had My Arrival Plus For Almost a Year. Now What?

I already knew the answer to that question before I called Barclaycard last week. But I decided to call anyways for the sake of curiosity, and to possibly help out someone else that may be in the same position with their Barclaycard Arrival Plus that is actually considering keeping it open.

I want to be able to get the sign up bonus on the Arrival Plus again, and the general consensus is that you can, but your previous card must be closed for at least six months before applying again.

Seven North American Cities to Ireland for 13k Miles Most of Year

Bad news, good news:

The bad news is that the year-round 12,500 Avios award from Boston to Dublin or Shannon, Ireland on Aer Lingus is dead.

The good news is that those awards from Boston as well as awards from New York, Newark, Hartford, Toronto, Washington-Dulles, and Chicago to Ireland are now only 13,000 Avios for more than two-thirds of the year.

Trip Report: Maraú Peninsula (Taipú do Fora & Barra Grande)

I spent the previous two weeks in the Bahia state of Brazil, an incredible region rich in Brazilian culture lined with endless beautiful beaches. The first week I stayed in Itacaré, a small fishing and surfing village with some of the best Brazilian food I’ve ever tasted. I wrote a trip report about my experience in Itacaré earlier this week. The second week I stayed about a 45 minute drive north of Itacaré on the Maraú peninsula, at a beach called Taipú do Fora that’s known for excellent snorkeling.