Category Archives: British Airways

Get Over Your Fear of Flying With British Airways

a blue and white sign

I’m pretty sure that all of us know someone that has a fear of flying. According to British Airways “almost 25% of people have at least some fear of flying, while about 1 in 10 people have a phobia of flying”.

Growing up, I hated the idea of flying. My first flight went well but after that it was all downhill. I was scared at times but the worst part was getting nauseous. I needed to make use of the barf bag on a few occasions. 

After doing my best to avoid flying for a few years, I decided to take a trip with my older brother and some friends to South Beach during my last year of college. To my surprise, I felt fine on the flight. The only problem was that on the way home my brother and I got stuck in the last row on the plane and could not recline our seats! 

After this trip I couldn’t wait to go away again. I don’t think that I had caught the travel bug just yet but I was interested. 

While reading online recently, I came across an amazing, one day course that can help people get over their fear of flying.

British Airways Flying With Confidence courses help people Conquer Their Fear.
The Flying With Confidence program has been going strong for over 20 years. 
Over 45,000 people have taken the courses with a 98% success rate in helping these nervous flyers overcome their fears. 

A Little About the Course:

  • The courses take place at Heathrow, New York, Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. 
  • Courses are run by pilots, cabin crew, psychologists and others
  • The day is broken down into morning and afternoon sessions which are then followed by a short 45 minute flight.
  • Friends/ family of those taking the course can select a flight- only option to join them. 
  • If you have already taken the course you can sign up for the flight- only option to get more time flying on a short flight.
  • Lunch and refreshments are included.
  • For attending the course you can save 10% on a future BA flight by booking within a month for travel within 6 months.
The main reason that the Flying With Confidence courses caught my eye was due to their first ever U.S. course coming to New York’s JFK Airport on April 27. 

The course costs £311, (approximately $463 according to the XE Currency Converter).
(The flight only option to accompany someone on the course is $223.)

This certainly is not cheap but if the Flying With Confidence Course could help you get over your fear of flying, the benefits could be priceless. I couldn’t imagine not being able to fly and visit all of the amazing places that I’ve been to. 


Here are some other upcoming courses: (prices vary)

  • Edinburgh- March 23
  • Heathrow- May 11
  • Heathrow- July 6

Find out more about Flying With Confidence and book your spot by Clicking HERE.

Three Strikes (Calls) And You’re Approved for the British Airways Card

a credit card with a blue background
In early July much of the credit card chatter was about our last chance to sign up for the Chase British Airways credit card 100,000 miles offer. I didn’t think much about getting in on this deal as Kim and I both received this offer when the card came out a couple of years back. We used our miles to fly in business class to Italy for 120,000 mile each. (Taxes were a bit high but we still found the deal and trip well worth it)
I started thinking about the possibility of getting the BA card again. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to get the card for a second time and I already was approved for a bunch of Chase cards this year. So I pretty much forgot about it.
About a week later I was doing my daily travel blog reading and came across an important piece of information on Million Mile Secrets: Emily gets the British Airways 100,000 Point Bonus for a Second Time!
I thought it over and decided to take a chance at getting the BA card. To apply for the offer, I had to do a mock flight booking with British Airways. This then brought up the offer to earn 100,000 British Airways Avios miles. The offer gave 50K miles after your first purchase. The annual fee of $75 was not waived. The second 50K were given after your first card anniversary by again making a purchase and paying the $75 fee.
If I was approved I would earn 100,000 BA miles after two purchases and $150 in fees. I hate paying fees (and rarely do) but the ease of no minimum spend to earn the miles really appealed to me.  
There was another Chase BA offer to earn 100,000 miles- 50K after first purchase, 25K more after spending $10,000 and 25K more after spending another $10,000. The fee for this card was $95. This deal was not an option for me since I would NEVER put $20,000 on one card. How would I reach my minimum spends for future offers?!

After applying for the card I received an application needs further review message. I figured that I would wait a few days and call the Chase Retention Line (888-245-0625) to get a decision. 

I called on July 14 and the rep put me on hold a few times before telling me that I was denied. The reason was too many applications & approvals within the last few months. I offered to close some of my old accounts but was told this would not work and that there was no way to “override” the system. I asked again and was told the same thing once again. I figured that it was time to take a break from Chase.

I decided to give Chase a call one more time the following morning. I went through the same conversation and was given the same info. This rep told me to show usage on my cards and suggested that I not apply for any more cards for 6 months.

I received a letter from Chase a few days later regarding my British Airways card denial. In the letter I had noticed that it suggested that I call back if I had any more information to share with them within the next 30 days. I tossed the letter aside and thought about calling again.

A couple of days later I filled out an application for the Chase BA card for Kim. She also received the pending status message but I figured she had a great shot at being approved since she only received one new Chase card in the last 6-8 months.
Sure enough after waiting a few days to call, Kim answered a bunch of questions and was APPROVED for the British Airways card. 
All was not lost. In a little over a year, we would have over 100,000 BA Avios miles!

Fast forward a couple of weeks later… I was cleaning up some old papers & mail and came across my Chase BA rejection letter again. I reread it and focused on the “call again if you have any new info within 30 days” sentence…. One of my Chase accounts was closed a week or so back- I did have some new info! 

On August 14, around one month from when this application process started I decided to give Chase one final call. 

The reconsideration line was answered by a friendly representative and I had a feeling this was going to work out. I gave my application ID # and was placed on hold. Shortly after I was asked why I apply for so many cards. I gave my usual story how I like to keep different purchases with different cards to know how we are spending. I mentioned how each card also gave varying miles for each category (groceries, gas, travel etc). I also shared that we had some international travel coming up and I loved how the BA card does not charge foreign transaction fees (actually neither do some of my other cards!).  She said that she understood why I wanted the card. I also mentioned my recently closed account and offered to close or move some credit from another card.

I was then asked which card I would like to move credit from and how much of a credit line I would like for the BA card. I suggested my Southwest card and was placed on hold. The rep came back on the line and told me the credit would have to be moved from my United Explorer card and that I was APPROVED! 

By the middle of next August I will have another 100,000+ miles thanks to this amazing offer! Good thing that I did not give up and take no for an answer. 

This just shows that you should never give up… In this case it took three calls and I was approved! 

Now it’s time for that break from Chase credit card applications…until that next great offer!

Happy Holidays 2011

a man and woman wearing santa hats
Blurry iPhone Pic

Last year we flew business class to Italy on Christmas Day with British Airways. The airport was quieter than expected. Our flight didn’t leave until late at night so we had a nice time in the BA Terrace Lounge at JFK airport in Terminal 7. The snacks were decent but we were allowed into the dining area which worked out well.
We sat upstairs in business class which was not too busy. Everyone was in a great mood and some of the flight attendants were wearing santa hats.
My wife & I and some other passengers were taking pictures and a couple of flight attendants offered to let us wear their santa hats. The hats definitely added some fun to our pre-flight photo-op.

a man and woman sitting in an airplane
pre-Santa hat pic
This year we are home for the holidays! My wife and I are expecting our first child in a few weeks! I look forward to having another travel companion very soon!!!
I hope that everyone has a happy holidays and there are lots of great mileage earning opportunities, trips & flights planned for 2012!