Where can i find the best program for air miles or airline upgrades? I think I fly enough and buy enough that i should be eligible for something. Is there a good credit card issued in Taiwan with air miles or a deal with an airline? or an airline that has a good frequent flyers program? maybe a member card for a department store that rewards miles for purchases? most flights are to vancouver but I could make use of miles from really any airline that flies out of Taipei…thanks
Good luck getting a credit card in Taiwan. That can be a challenge.
Eva Air and China Air, the two Taiwanese international carriers, both have affinity credit cards and both serve TPE-YVR non-stop, if I’m not mistaken. Just check their web sites. Their mileage programs are pretty similar.
There was a thread about this very topic some time ago.
Anyway, to answer your question, I have a credit card from Taipei Fubon Bank which allows the holder to earn Asia Miles with every transaction. In addition, with it I also got a Priority Pass Card which gives me access to VIP Lounges world-wide. Not bad, eh?
CraigTPE wrote: “Good luck getting a credit card in Taiwan. That can be a challenge.”
Ditto that!
I’ve already got a Visa card in Taiwan and I’ve also got my car financed so it shouldn’t be a problem…thanks for the suggestions
I suggest you pick an airline that meets your needs in terms of routes, service and pricing, then get their frequent flier card and make sure you constantly use it. That will be the quickest way to earn points. As well, when upgrade spots open up, they usually pick passengers on their frequent flier list first, so you may get some bonuses there too. If you fly enough with them, then you can get on their Gold type program where you can hang out in their lounge, get priority check-in etc.
It may not be possible to get a credit card that matches up with the same airline. So in that case I recommend you shop around for which card offers the best reward program for you, i.e. a reward that you would use yourself. I don’t know what the Taiwanese card rewards are like, but in Canada if you pay an annual fee for the card, your reward is usually higher than if you go for the no fee cards. The annual fee option is a better option if you regularly make purchases on the credit card, as your rewards will be greater, so be sure to factor that in to your decision.
Bumping this up again - does anyone here have advice about getting and using points while living in Taiwan, and flying overseas 1-2 times a year? (To Vancouver every summer, somewhere else in winter vacation in normal years, and occasionally spring break.) I’ve been using a Citibank card that gives me points for Eva, but I’ve pretty much given up on them. Their points now expire after just three years (this it the big hassle), and they require considerably ramped-up amounts of points for peak periods, which is basically when I have time off. Plus Eva have pruned their routes, so they’re less useful than they used to be (no more India).
I remember reading years ago…
economist.com/node/1109840
… (wow, nine years ago?!) that the era of easily using points was going to by and large come to an end. Has that happened in Taiwan, or are there other tricks I’m missing? Airline alliances that affect China Airlines or Eva? Cathay?
I have the vague impression that for nearby trips with my wife (Bali, Guam, Thailand, etc.) flight + hotel packages are usually a better deal these days anyway - or am I off on that?
(Leaving aside the fact that using Eva’s website is well-nigh impossible.)
Delta (DL) and China (CI)have code-shared on their flights for some time, but recently announced that CI will officially join SkyTeam, which will improve the partnership and enhance benefits. Eva Air (BR) has code-shares with Continental (CO), but as CO is being rolled into United (UA), the future of that relationship is not clear. Cathay (CX) is part of OneWorld, along with American (AA), but AA is rumored to be on the verge of bankruptcy, with the oldest fleet of aircraft in the US and the highest labor costs.
I have been making trips back to the US twice a year to visit family that is spread all over the country. Until this year, I’ve flown UA exclusively to maintain Premier status and enjoy a few small benefits on both domestic and international flights. Recently announced changes to their mileage program, however, will make Premier meaningless, so I’m switching to DL. DL is matching my status on UA, so I lose nothing. Because I still do a lot of travel within the US, it’s worthwhile for me to hitch my wagon to a US carrier.
So far, I pay for my tickets in the US, and just got the DL SkyMiles card with AX.
It depends what your annual spend is but the only two serious choices for mileage accumulation are the Citibank Eva Platinum visa card and American Express Cathay cobrand. I have a gut feeling the Citibank visa is going to be stopped for new applications in the near future because they signed a new deal with Mastercard. The same benefits on the $1800/yr visa card will now cost $20k on the equivalent Mastercard World card.
I have a huge stash of miles on Eva so I was kind of annoyed about the changes too but the Citibank / Eva combo is still the best option in Taiwan if you need a card other than Amex. Accumulation is $25 = 1 mile for domestic purchases or $15 = 1 mile for foreign purchases. 4x airport pickups and 20 days of airport parking are included every year.
If you have the opportunity to use Amex a lot then the Amex Cathay Elite card is the best card for mileage fans and frequent travelers. Annual fee is $5,000 which includes 20 days of airport parking and a free r/t ticket to HK, plus if you spend at least $400k/year you get 20% bonus on all miles. There is also an extra bonus when you buy CX tickets with your Amex. Amex customer support kicks Citibank up the ass and out of the stratosphere, they are just fantastic.
I find it easier to get reward tickets from Eva than CX but I go to the Eva office in person for booking. I am constantly surprised how much effort they put in to help me find compatible dates, weird routing, 8-person bookings etc.
OP, if you’re flying into Vancouver regularly, you could consider Cathay Pacific (they fly in and out of YVR twice a day). Their rewards system is, IMHO, vastly better than what the Taiwan airlines offer–and the point redemption system on their website is ridiculously easy to use.
Just my 
Guy
Thanks for the pointers - I’ve called Eva’s office occasionally, but I haven’t tried actually going there. Trying to redeem points online has proved a major hassle: basically I had to go all the way through the process, and allocate points, BEFORE they’d tell me if there were spots available. So I’m wait-listed for using points, which I didn’t even know was possible. To be fair, their office staff has been as helpful as they can, but it still seems weird to me that they can’t tell me what place I’m at on the waiting list; I guess I should have called them before navigating the website.
I suppose part of the “problem” is that recently Philippine Airlines has been so much cheaper for trips to Vancouver in recent years, so I’m just not flying Eva as much as I once did: and I can see no way to accumulate enough useful Eva points in the three years it takes before points expire.
I used to fly Cathay all the time, back when I lived in Tainan (and had to either fly out of Kaohsiung anyway, or take the bus up to Taoyuan), but haven’t used them much recently. I need to give them another look: points with Cathay would certainly seem more useful than Eva’s currently are. I used to have an HSBC card that got me points on Cathay, I think - maybe I should try to get that again. Then again, I probably dropped the card for a reason, even if I don’t remember what that reason was.
Am I right that flight + hotel packages out of Taiwan are usually cheaper for short trips (eg to Thailand) than buying things a la carte, or am I off on that?
Of course one of the biggest hassles of all is that no one can tell you what a trip is going to cost until a couple of months before the departure date. That’s absolutely infuriating: last spring I had to buy my Philippine tickets to Vancouver before Eva or Cathay even knew what their prices were.
Not exactly. What is not known in advance are special, negotiated contract fares that the wholesalers and travel agents mark-up and sell to the public. Standard published fares are known nearly a year in advance, and available from the airline direct, travel agents or online travel booking sites. Published fares might be marginally higher than the negotiated fares, but include the peace of mind of knowing what you’re getting.
I generally book my flights to the US 6 - 7 months in advance to get good seats, and either from a travel agent back home, or the airline’s web site. I’ve tried local agents but have the same experience you mention. They can’t tell me what their fare will be, and routinely quote me higher than the published fare if I want to book in advance.
I split between Sky Team (China Air/Delta/KLM) and Cathay. Event though I rack up 3X the mileage on SkyTeam, I get upgraded much more frequently on Cathay. But Cathay is usually 50% more expensive on the same route. On Delta, I get Economy Comfort seats for free at my level and I fly TPE>NRT>USA at least twice a year so it’s nice to have some more space and free booze and if I fly domestic in the States, I can typically get into First Class for free. But never international upgrades on Delta. Chase Sapphire is supposed to have a good, independent rewards program.
IMO the best value in credit card miles is to redeem for business or first class transatlantic tickets. For a mileage-oriented credit card to be really useful I think you would have to spend at least $1.25m/year or you would not rack up miles quickly enough to redeem them before expiry.
If your annual spend is around $400k-$1m and you take several paid flights with a particular airline or alliance then credit card miles could be useful to bump up your total mileage.
If your annual spend is less than around $400k/year then I don’t think a mileage card is good value. You would be better off with a regular rewards or cashback program. Most credit card points don’t expire and you can convert them to miles, gifts etc. at your leisure but with a lower conversion rate.
One thing about the Citibank Eva card is that they no longer transfer miles automatically, you have to do it manually. That could be a huge benefit to someone who does not have a large annual spend because the miles will have an expiry date based on when you transfer them to Eva, not when they were accumulated.