an amateur mistake

I wonder if you've ever experienced something like the following.

I have a Citi Prestige card in my wallet, one of the draws being the fact that I got a 50,000 "thank you points" bonus on sign-up. This morning, it was my intent to use those points, plus other points I've accrued, towards a ticket on American Airlines. (The link, by the way, gives the credit for the referral to my friend Ben Schlappig, if you decide to apply for the card).

I reached the Thank You desk at Citi, got the flights I wanted set up with the travel advisor, but something about his voice did not make me confident that he was totally on top of things. Moreover, this being the first time I had tried to "cash in" points, I was unfamiliar with the process.

So I panicked, booked the flights on aa.com, and paid cash. Only a bit later did I realize that everything would have been OK and I could have saved $800+.

I'm really an amateur when it comes to The Hobby of earning and using points. Next time, I'll just trust the process.

copyright (c) 2015 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.