Travel to Cozumel got more difficult this year

[Trailboss123]

Remember, just before you close out one card start another and don't close the card until the air miles have hit your AA account. The miles reside with AA, not the credit card... you just have to wait for them to be posted to your AA account. Then close that old card and run with the other - when yuo sign up for the next one they will ask you if you have an existing AA Awards account - you give them you AA account # and those new miles then hit your account about a month after you've reached the $ volume of purchases in the required time frame. You generally need to switch from one bank's AA card to another as the offering bank won't let you cancel one and then apply for another inside of 2 years but who cares? There's no shortage of banks out there offering air miles cards.

Does closing out a credit card not negatively impact your credit rating? I closed out an Alaska Airlines Visa that I had for years, as I didn't need it or the $100 annual fee it cost me anymore, only to then see my credit rating drop about 80 points immediately.

 

[ReefHound]

Does closing out a credit card not negatively impact your credit rating? I closed out an Alaska Airlines Visa that I had for years, as I didn't need it or the $100 annual fee it cost me anymore, only to then see my credit rating drop about 80 points immediately.

It might since one factor is the ratio of total balances to total available credit. Closing a card reduces your total available balance, making that ratio higher. But I don't know the exact algorithm (does anyone?) so it probably varies based on all kinds of parameters.

 

[DandyDon]

Does closing out a credit card not negatively impact your credit rating? I closed out an Alaska Airlines Visa that I had for years, as I didn't need it or the $100 annual fee it cost me anymore, only to then see my credit rating drop about 80 points immediately.

Did you try disputing?

I closed a Wells Fargo visa only because I replaced it with a new Wells Fargo visa with 1½% rebates and lost points from that. I disputed, but lost track of the outcome as it didn't hurt me that I know. I think I got some points back, but not all.

 

[horn34]

I typically check dates for reasonable airfares since that is the biggest variable cost then ask for those dates.

I do check multiple dates for low fares, but my usual minimum trip is 10 days, so a Friday through a Sunday or Monday. Unless the start/end dates are near a holiday, the pricing on SW/AA has generally been about the same (until the MAX groundings).

 

[deepsea21]

Not always true...I just booked a mileage redemption flight on AA for mid-August.
Actually I decided to split the difference, booking two one ways instead. My AA flight LAX-DFW-CZM gets me on the island at a comfortable 3PM. On my return will do the bag drag via CUN-Houston Hobby-Los Angeles on SouthWest ($290 one-way).

That's actually a good idea because sometimes one can find dirt cheap flights to or from CUN while CZM seldom changes. However, if I recall it's 15,000 Vaalusaver miles on AA regardless if you can find the right dates in and out of CZM.

 

[deepsea21]

Does closing out a credit card not negatively impact your credit rating? I closed out an Alaska Airlines Visa that I had for years, as I didn't need it or the $100 annual fee it cost me anymore, only to then see my credit rating drop about 80 points immediately.

I have an 850 credit score. I'm not sure how the credit agencies calculate all of that stuff but I as another stated a component of the calculation is the ratio of revolving debt to total revolving debt available... to a point. At some point having too much unused revolving debt supposedly negatively impacts your credit score. I remember checking my score once and it said too much availability so I canceled a card I was no longer using and my score increased significantly a few months later. I probably have about $75K-$80K of credit card availability across 4 cards but I never carry a balance and am only using one of those cards all the time (being the last miles card I signed up for to grab the bonus miles). That being said my wife also has an 850 score and she only had her one Barclay's AA card and also never carried a balance. We just added the Citi AA card to her and I doubt there will be any change in her score.

These days I have a B of A card I haven't used in years, a Chase British Airways card I haven't used in years but refuse to cancel it because I have so many miles on it at some point I'll use them, a USAA card and my current primary Barclays AA Rewards card that I will probbaly keep active for a while because as soon as my wife hits her $3000 min in 3 months on her new Citi AA card we'll stop using that she'll go back to my Barclays card because if we run $20K per year? through it (I'll have to check) we get a $99 companion ticket on AA anywhere each year. It is a big game but it is worth it as airfare is expensive and $99 annual credit card fees are cheap with the first year's fee waived to boot. The credit card co's play their game too buying air miles from the airlines to offer as sign-up promotions and they charge crazy interest rates on top of the annual fee with the hope (and reality) that the majority of customers will carry a balance month to month.

 

[WetInPortland]

Does closing out a credit card not negatively impact your credit rating? I closed out an Alaska Airlines Visa that I had for years, as I didn't need it or the $100 annual fee it cost me anymore, only to then see my credit rating drop about 80 points immediately.

Yes, closing the account was likely the cause. A better alternative is to tell the CC issuer that you don't want to pay the annual fee, and ask what your alternatives are. They may waive the fee, or they many offer an alternative card with no fee. Either way, you keep that credit line and history intact. It's unlikely that a new credit card issuer is going to take issue with you having too much available credit. You can always appeal a denial on that basis with the comment that you don't want to close down an old credit line, specifically because of the negative impact.

 

[blake7]

Chase British Airways card I haven't used in years but refuse to cancel it because I have so many miles on it at some point I'll use them

The expiration date of your Avios points is with BA's Executive Club and not tied with your Chase credit card. My recommendation would be to charge $1 on the card to refresh the Executive Club account date and then move to a no annual fee Chase card for that account. You will then have 36 months to use them, or trigger another qualifying event. Avios expiry rules | Executive Club | British Airways

 

[Trailboss123]

It might since one factor is the ratio of total balances to total available credit. Closing a card reduces your total available balance, making that ratio higher. But I don't know the exact algorithm (does anyone?) so it probably varies based on all kinds of parameters.

Concur. I also think the length of a particular credit line factors in. I didn't think about it at the time, but that was one of my oldest credit lines.

 

[gopbroek]

Basically the available capacity into Cozumel / Cancun sucks this summer. I fly standby and have been shut out several weekends last month. The violence on the mainland and ALMO's election was supposed to suppress demand. Didn't happen, the previous president instituted a policy of no bad news in the Mexican main stream media reporting which has continued. AA deleted the MIA to CZM route due to needing to redeploy the AC and then cut frequency to Cancun on the forecast of less traffic. Add to to this the negitive news from the DR and the demand from QR has overwhelmeld the available capacity (the airlines are also short capacity due to the 737Max fiasco).