When redeeming miles and points, you aren’t always going to find exactly what you want – if you are flexible, your chances significantly increase. That being said, there are sometimes long periods of time when there’s no award availability to where you want to go from your home airport. If you live in a smaller city with little-to-no service from international airlines, finding award space is going to be harder – US airlines generally release less award space than foreign airlines… which is why it is important to understand what Positioning Flights are and the best ways to book them.

let positioning flights help you find more award availability

What is a Positioning Flight?

A positioning flight is a domestic (or short international) flight from your home airport to a bigger, gateway city which has more award availability (usually on foreign airlines).

For example, let’s say you live in Santa Barbara, California and you want to fly to London. You run a search for award availability and nothing comes up.. and that’s probably because there is no availability out of SBA domestically to get you to a bigger city in the US to catch a flight from there to London. When I say there’s no award availability, I am referring to saver-level award availability, because there will probably be standard-level availability… but that (usually) can’t be combined with a partner airline all on one ticket for a good mileage price.

Looking at SBA’s Wikipedia page, you can fly from Santa Barbara to the following:

• Alaska Airlines: Portland, Seattle
• American Airlines: Dallas, Phoenix
• Southwest: Denver, Las Vegas, Oakland, Sacramento
• United Airlines: Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco

As you can see, there are no international flights and rather most of the flights are to bigger, gateway cities in the US – which offer numerous flights to Europe on foreign airlines.

What you would do in this case is instead of searching for flights from Santa Barbara to London, you would search from one of those above cities to London for award availability and the chances you find something are much higher. When you find a flight that works for you (for example, Seattle to London could have availability on a number of airlines), you can book that award flight out of Seattle. Then what you would do is buy a cash ticket (or redeem miles dynamically) for a flight from Santa Barbara to Seattle on a separate ticket, to your gateway city. This short domestic flight would be the positioning flight.

Positioning Flights are Separate Tickets

Positioning flights will be on separate bookings/tickets if there is no saver-level availability (or if you are flying two different airlines who do not have a frequent flyer partnership, for example).

When booking two separate tickets, you always want to make sure your connection is extra long – this is because if your first (positioning) flight is delayed or cancelled and you miss your next flight on the other, separate booking, that airline won’t rebook you and rather you will have to buy a new ticket. This is because to them, you are originating your travel on that ticket and not connecting (they don’t know you are flying in from somewhere else). In the event of irregular operations, you are not protected on a separate ticket.

When I book positioning flights, I always fly the day before and simply spend a night at my gateway city – this is much safer in case your flight is delayed or cancelled. Always take a look at what other flights you can take to your gateway city should your original positioning flight be cancelled (have a back-up plan).

Other Important Information

If you need to change or cancel your flights, remember that you have two separate tickets so there will be different change and cancellation policies (and fees), depending on how you booked your ticket. You may have to pay two fees to change or cancel, in line with what the rules are on the ticket.

If you are checking in bags your first airline may be able to “through” check your bags to your final destination, even though you have separate tickets. This is all up to two things – if the agent is willing to do it and if the two airlines you are flying have a baggage interline agreement. Even if the two airlines are not partners, chances are they do have a baggage agreement (if they are major airlines). However, it all then depends on the check-in agent – some are great and some are lazy; if you have verified the two airlines can check bags to each other and the agent is refusing, try speaking with another agent or manager.

positioning flights could help you get to your destination quicker and cheaper

All in All

Positioning flights are a great way to save miles/money and fly to a gateway city with more award availability – travel on separate tickets and on airlines that aren’t partners can open up more flight options and availability for you. Remember the key things listed above when booking your positioning flight – always leave enough time in between flights and have a back-up plan should something go wrong.

It is best to note the terms and conditions of both of your tickets – can you change or cancel them for free? This is important and it is best if you book tickets that are refundable (either for free or for a fee) – you definitely do not want to book nonrefundable tickets as this could end up being a mess (if there are schedule changes or your plans change, for example). If you keep all of these tips in mind and are smart about how you’re booking your tickets, it can be a great way to combine an international award ticket with a domestic flight in order to open up more options for you and your family.

The post Positioning Flights: What You Need to Know appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Airlines and their frequent flyer programs sell miles/points – virtually all programs do (there are a few exceptions, however). Buying miles for premium cabin travel can be a great deal if you are receiving a significant bonus when you buy the miles or if you are receiving a discount on the purchase in some way. Most airlines usually sell 1,000 miles for a cost of $30-35 USD, some airlines add on tax and/or processing fees to this and some do not.

Should you actually buy miles even when you have the ability to transfer in points to a frequent flyer program from a major transferable bank points program? It depends on a few factors and those can include how good the sale is, how many points you have, whether you are looking to book a trip right away, etc. Buying miles can be very beneficial to those looking to redeem them for premium cabin travel – First and Business Class, since it usually doesn’t make sense to redeem them on long-haul Economy Class international flights.

are you going to buy miles for a flight to paradise?

Buying Miles: A Warning

First of all, I think it is very important to take a few things into consideration when buying miles:

• purchases are nonrefundable
• miles/points do not always credit to your account right away
• buy them if you are going to use them right away

If you are buying miles, make sure that you are going to use them right away and that you have checked award availability multiple times before you pull the trigger – the same applies to when you are transferring in points from a bank program.

Airlines devalue frequent flyer programs and therefore it absolutely does not make sense for you to buy miles and have them sit in your account. Buy them only if you are going to use them soon.

The other, important thing to remember is that there is always a small chance that someone books up your award seat before you are able to grab it – the process takes time to buy the miles and then go through the booking process.. and it is very possible that someone else will book that seat before you do. In cases like this, you’re stuck searching for another option since you can’t (usually) refund mileage purchases.

When Should You Buy Miles?

When should you actually buy miles? Well, you should never buy miles to have them sit in your account unused, that’s for sure. You should buy miles if/when:

• the airline is selling them with a bonus (like 50% more miles with your purchase)
• the airline is selling them at a discount
• you are going to redeem them right away
• you need to top-off an account for a redemption
• there is another big promotion involved where buying miles makes sense

If the airline is selling miles with a huge bonus, then that’s the best time to buy miles – you generally never want to purchase them at the regular rate as that’s a really bad deal.

What Miles Should You Buy?

The value and power of your frequent flyer miles all depends on where they are located – if the frequent flyer program is strong and has been stable in the past few years and has offered numerous redemption opportunities, it could make sense to buy miles without using them right away (at your own risk, of course). While most airlines do sell miles, there are only a few that are worth purchasing (in my opinion).

For example, Air Canada Aeroplan has a ton of airline partners outside of the Star Alliance – I would be comfortable buying these points without using them right away because at some time I know I will use them and redeem them for a valuable ticket. Another good example is American Airlines AAdvantage – this program allows you to hold an award ticket, which means you can easily lock in your itinerary and then buy the miles – all without having to worry that someone might grab the last seat.

You Can Transfer Miles Between Accounts

Most frequent flyer programs allow you to transfer miles/points between accounts – some for free and others for a fee. Some programs even allow you to create a family account which means you can combine points from multiple accounts for one ticket.

Transferring miles between accounts is almost never worth it if you have to pay a fee… unless we are talking about Avianca LifeMiles. This program allows you to transfer your points to another member for a fee but they frequently offer transfer bonuses, for example, recently they had a 100% transfer bonus – that means that whatever amount you transfer to another account, that account will automatically be credited more miles. In cases like this where you want to combine miles between accounts and there is a huge transfer bonus, it can definitely make sense.

buy miles if you redeem them right away

All in All

Buying miles can be a great deal if you are mostly looking to use them right away for premium cabin travel. A standard one-way Economy Class ticket to Europe costs around 30k miles whereas a one-way Business Class ticket costs starting at 60k miles – which is double the price of Economy Class. When you look at the cash prices, an Economy ticket will cost probably around $1,000 whereas a Business Class ticket will probably start at around $3,500. When comparing cash vs miles, the miles-booking option wins in this case since the differences aren’t that huge when comparing it to a cash ticket. This is why you should almost always redeem your miles/points for a premium cabin ticket.

Remember to buy miles when there is a bonus and if you are looking to redeem them right away – do not just buy them to have them sit in your account. Remember that there are always risks involved when buying miles, which is why it is important to have a backup award flight in case your desired flights get booked up by someone else (or the airline pulls the award seat). Be sure to check all terms and conditions carefully and understand the rules of the frequent flyer program you are using before proceeding with a large mileage purchase.

The post Should You Buy Miles? appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Airline and Frequent Flyer elite status is constantly evolving and while the core perks of elite status have more or less remained the same during the past several years, several aspects have changed about airline elite status to a point where travelers are pondering whether or not it makes sense to keep and renew their status year after year.

Airlines and their loyalty programs keep changing elite status benefits and also the requirements needed to earn a specific tier level. It seems like the past ten years has seen the most modifications to frequent flyer programs and status benefits than in their entire lifetime. Airlines used to make modifications to their programs every few years but lately, it seems like almost every year there is yet another change – members are confused and angry that airlines keep changing benefits year after year, it almost makes one want to not hold status because of how difficult it can be to understand.

does earning airline elite status still make sense?

Basic Elite Status Benefits

Every airline and frequent flyer program determines what perks and benefits are offered at each tier level – the higher your level is, the more benefits you are entitled to. The most basic elite status benefits, which virtually all airlines offer to status tier members, include:

• priority check-in
• priority baggage handling
• extra baggage allowance
• priority security
• lounge access
• priority boarding
• preferred seating in Economy Class
• complimentary space-available upgrades (US programs only)
• dedicated phone line

There are more benefits which airlines offer that vary depending on your frequent flyer status, the route you are flying, the fare you booked, etc.

“Replacement” Elite-Like Travel Benefits

Nowadays you can actually not hold elite status and still travel through the airport like a pro and as if you held elite status. This is thanks to various programs which have come to life over the past few years which you can select and subscribe to. Let’s compare the basic elite status benefits listed above to their “replacement” programs:

• priority check-in
  • most people check-in online or on the app and then visit a dedicated online bag drop counter with no lines
• extra baggage allowance
  • holding an airline credit card often gives you a free checked bag for yourself and a companion on the same reservation
• priority security
  • TSA PreCheck or Clear
• lounge access
  • Priority Pass or other independent lounge-access program
• preferred seating in Economy Class/complimentary space-available upgrades (US programs only)
  • you can often purchase extra-legroom Economy seats or upgrade to First Class for a good price
• dedicated phone line
  • if you have issues you can reach out to airlines on social media or even texting them, which is usually quicker

Elite First Class Upgrades

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of holding airline status within the US is the fact that you are eligible for complimentary, space-available upgrades to First Class on qualifying itineraries within the US and some North American routes – this perk is usually even made available to entry-level status. However, this benefit has been significantly reduced over the past few years due to a number of reasons:

• First Class is less expensive than in the past
• there’s more flyers with elite status, so more competition for upgrades
• the cheapest, Basic Economy tickets, are usually not eligible for upgrades (so you have to buy a more expensive ticket just to be eligible for a hard-to-get upgrade)
• rules on what flights are eligible for these upgrades keep changing

Airlines sell First Class upgrades these days for much less than they did in the past – which is why status flyers receive less upgrades. In the past, the cost to upgrade to or buy a First Class ticket was astronomical, but these days the cost sometimes isn’t that expensive – especially if you consider the perks that come with a First Class ticket (like free bags and airport priority services).

The perk of complimentary upgrades to First Class has been devalued over the years and First Class often gets booked up in full by people paying for it, so upgrades aren’t as easy to get as they were in the past.

elite status can help you travel better

Does Earning Airline Elite Status Still Make Sense?

Having taken all of that into consideration, these days it may not make sense to hold airline elite status anymore mainly because you can simply subscribe to services which offer similar airport ground services for a yearly fee – and these services apply to you regardless of which airline you fly with. If you want to hold elite status you have to fly X number of miles each year with a specific airline or their partners – and your benefits only apply to that airline and their partners.

If you don’t hold elite status and instead subscribe to the various airport/travel services, you have the freedom to fly with whatever airline you want based on what works for you in terms of schedule and cost – you no longer have to select an airline because you have status with them or need to re-qualify for that status. All of this can give you more travel options since now you can be open to any airline and be flexible and select what works for you.

Elite Status is not the same as it once was and only you are able to make the call if it makes sense for you to renew it year after year and hold on to it. Perhaps you are more successful with upgrades on the routes you fly and you may not subscribe to any of the “replacement” services, so it could make sense for you to have status. Maybe your company pays for all of your flights and therefore you aren’t really paying out of pocket for it. Each traveler has to decide for themselves, based on their travel patterns and their past use of elite status, if it still makes sense – there just isn’t a “one size fits all”.

The post Does Airline Elite Status Still Make Sense? appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Nowadays, there are a million different ways to book one specific flight – whether that’s directly through the operating airline, through a travel agency, using miles, using a partner airline on a codeshare, paying with bank points, etc. – the options can sometimes feel overwhelming and selecting the best booking method may feel like a daunting task.

Thankfully, flight booking does not have to be complicated – the miles and points community has established guidelines which outline what the best booking method for a specific flight or itinerary is based on a variety of factors – ticket cost, award availability, pay with points ability, etc. Each ticket can be analyzed in terms of cost and then the booking methods can be compared and later selected.

Let’s take a look at a specific flight and we will compare all the ways we can book it, and select the best method.

Random Flight Details

I’ve picked out a random flight from Google Flights and the details are as follows:

• American Airlines
• Seattle to Los Angeles
• random date in April 2023

The cash cost of this flight is as follows:

• Basic Economy: $147
• Main Cabin: $177
• First Class: $376

how should we book this AA flight for good value?

Flight Booking with Cash

American Airlines’ website displays the prices above for that specific flight and so do most major online travel agencies. If you look up the flight using Google Flights, you will notice that sometimes you have the ability to book a flight using cash through some random travel agencies, which exist online, for perhaps a few dollars less than directly with the airline.

My advice? Don’t book it with a random travel agency online. If your flight is cancelled or significantly changed, AA will tell you to contact the travel agency where you booked your ticket and more often than not, these random online travel agencies don’t bother responding to emails or phone calls – some could even go out of business before you fly. It will be a huge mess, so avoid at all cost.

Generally the same advice goes even if you book with a major travel agency like Expedia – you will wait hours on the phone, likely have to speak to multiple agents before you get what you want and the whole process will take much longer than if you just booked your flight with the airline directly.

Always book with the airline directly.

Paying with Bank Points

Most bank programs that offer the ability to transfer their points to airlines (in order to book an award ticket), also let you use those points towards gift cards, merchandise, travel, etc. The bank will have a travel portal which is powered by an online travel agency and should display the same exact prices of flights that the airline does – however you now have the ability to pay for that flight either with your credit card or with your bank points.

Note that booking a flight through a bank’s travel rewards portal using your bank points is different than booking a true award ticket directly with a frequent flyer program. In this case, all you are doing is swapping points for cash and the ticket is still a revenue/cash ticket which would then potentially earn you miles.

How much your bank points are worth towards travel purchases through the bank’s travel portal depends on the credit card you have and your bank. For example, let’s take a look at these two Chase credit cards and their points value through Chase’s travel portal:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred: 1 point = 1.25 cents in value
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: 1 point = 1.5 cents in value

So if we were to book Main Cabin ($177) on that American Airlines flight we found before, the cost in points would be as follows (depending on what card we have):

• Chase Sapphire Preferred: 14,160 points
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: 11,800 points

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers more benefits and is more expensive than the Sapphire Preferred – which is why it offers more value per point. You could also mix and match cash and points if you wanted to in this scenario.

Booking An Award Ticket

Booking an award ticket on this flight will be possible in two different ways:

• if there is saver-level availability, we can book this flight through any American Airlines partner airline
• if there is no saver-level availability, we can book this flight only using American Airlines miles

In our case, there is saver-level availability in Economy, but not in First Class. Which means we can book Economy Class through a partner airline, like British Airways, but we can only book First Class using AA miles. The cost to book this flight using AA miles is as follows:

• Economy (web-special): 10k miles
• Economy (saver-level): 12.5k miles
• First (web-special): 32k miles
• First (standard): 60k miles

If we want to book First Class using miles, we can only do so using AA miles. If we want to book Economy Class, it will actually be less expensive to book it through a partner program, in this case we can book the same flight for just 9,000 British Airways Avios points because there is saver-level availability.

booking through an airline’s partner may provide the most value

Flight Booking: What is the Best Way?

So what is actually the best way to book this flight? Well, here are the options:

• Cash: Main Cabin for $177
• Pay with Points: 11,800 Chase UR points if we have the Sapphire Reserve (your bank and credit card may offer different values)
• Award Ticket through AA: 10k miles
• Award Ticket through British Airways: 9k points 

First of all, the cash price is too high on this route – Seattle to Los Angeles can easily be purchased for $65 – $90 at which point it is worth paying cash. In our example, we should not pay cash. Pay with Points seems like a good option if we have the Sapphire Reserve as it will only cost us 11,800 Chase points.. but still not the best option. Why? Because we can transfer 9k of those same Chase points to British Airways and then book the same ticket directly through British Airways, which is a winner in this case.

Now, there may be reasons why you would prefer to spend more and book the ticket through the Chase travel portal using Pay with Points – for example, you need more elite credit for status this year, in which case paying the small difference between 9k and 11.8k could make sense.

All in All

There are an infinite number of ways to book a flight – especially if there is saver-level award availability. Every frequent flyer program prices out flights how it wants – some are better than others and therefore sweet spots exist whereby you can book a flight for an exceptionally good deal through a partner airline. Remember to carefully explore all of your options before booking a flight – study the partner airlines of the airline you are flying and see if any of your transferable bank points could help you lock in that ticket for fewer points. Do remember that sometimes, paying cash might be the best way to go – only redeem your miles/points if you are getting good value and not just because you want a free ticket.

The post Flight Booking: Cash vs Miles vs Pay with Points appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

It happens to the best of us – no matter how much we plan, unexpected events come up prior to departure which might cause us to miss our flight (or nearly miss it). Thankfully, there are a few things you can do which can help you get rebooked on the next available flight (or even have your flight held for a few minutes as you run to the gate). Airlines understand that life happens and usually they will be able to accommodate you on the next available flight, assuming seats are available.

For how much we complain about US airlines, there are a few places where they shine in comparison to other airlines – usually a US airline will rebook you on the next flight if you miss your flight without issue whereas a European airline, for example, will simply tell you to buy a new ticket (which last minute can cost a lot). Nevertheless, here’s what you can do if you are running late and think you will miss your flight (or already miss it).

missing your flight? try to same day change it

Same Day Change to Another Flight

While US airlines may not offer the best service, they do have some perks that other airlines may not.. for example, Same Day Changes – something that is mostly not possible with airlines outside of North America. When flying on a US airline, you can usually change your flight to another flight that same day for a flat-fee instead of a fare difference, the only thing to keep in mind is that usually the Same Day Change can only be done the day of the flight or the day before and there have to be seats left on the new flight you want (you can also standby if there are no seats available).

Same Day Changes are amazing because you can change your flight for a flat-fee instead of paying an expensive last minute fare difference; same day change fees are waived for some top-tier elite members on some airlines. If you think you will miss your flight, check the airline’s app or website for different available flights that same day, this is usually done during the Online Check-in process, which you can access at any time up to an hour or so before your flight. You can select a flight later in the day that works for you or standby for another flight if there are no open seats.

Notify The Airline

If you are running late and will be cutting it close, notify the airline call center or the airline’s check-in counters at the airport – have one member of your travel group run quickly to the counters and inform the agents that you are on your way. If you aren’t super late and the security lines are quick, airlines could potentially hold your flight for a few extra minutes if you inform them you are on your way. The check-in agents can simply ring the gate agent and inform them to hold the flight for a few more minutes.

Missed Your Flight?

If you already missed your flight, you can try to rebook yourself using the airline’s app or website – but more often than not, you will have to either call them or speak with an agent at the airport. If the next available flight has seats, they can rebook you – sometimes they won’t charge you anything and sometimes they could charge you the same day change fee. There are some airlines that will make you buy a new ticket or pay a fare difference (or a no-show fee) and won’t be willing to waive this – in situations like this try to speak with someone else and explain your situation.

If you are flying on a low-cost airline, don’t expect much.. as they have strict rules designed to squeeze every dollar out of you – so don’t expect them to be as accommodating as legacy airlines.

Some Reasons Are Valid

If you are simply running late because you couldn’t plan well, then the airline probably won’t care that you missed your flight. However, if you had a flat tire, for example, on your way to the airport and can prove it, airlines will usually be accommodating. Some reasons for missing a flight are more valid than others – especially those outside of your control like life-or-death emergencies, for example.

Travel Insurance Helps

Make sure you have travel insurance – it can help you save hundreds of dollars if the airline makes you pay for a brand-new ticket or refuses to rebook you. Remember that most major travel credit cards come with some type of trip insurance and if you paid for your ticket using that credit card, find out what is included in the travel insurance provided by the card issuer. Some travel insurance policies are better than others – generally, the more you pay for your policy or for the credit card providing the insurance, the better the coverage will be. Make sure you have proper documentation, which will be requested when submitting your claim.

FYI Travel insurance can also cover expenses that the airline refuses to refund if the airline cancels or delays your flight (for example, due to weather).

if you miss your flight, know your rights and options

All in All

Our life is constantly evolving and last minute changes and emergencies do happen – thankfully, if you use the right tools, you can usually save yourself in situations like missing a flight. It is important to note that every airline has their own policy and these do differ – so while some airlines are happy to rebook you on another flight for no fees, others may insist that you need to pay a fare difference and/or no-show fees. Remember to read up the policy of your carrier online and inform yourself about your rights and what other tools (like travel insurance) are available to you and your travelers.

The post About to Miss Your Flight? Here’s What to Do appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Happy March! Summer is quickly approaching and a lot of people tend to book their summer vacations during the spring as we are only a few months before the busy season begins. There are people and families who have already booked their summer trips way in advance and have potentially scored the first available award seats when the schedule opened up 11 months prior to a flight. The good news is that airlines periodically release more seats prior to departure and usually one of those “waves” is a few months out – now.

The busiest travel periods are those during the months of June, July, and August, as well as mid-late December to early January. During these times, it can be very hard to book a Business Class ticket for the whole family to Europe, for example. Thankfully, there are tips and tricks that you can use to find more award availability and perhaps find a flight that works for your family.

start planning your summer vacation now

Search Availability from a Hub City

You should always start your searches from a bigger, hub city – like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc. For example, let’s say you want to fly from Santa Barbara to London this summer and when you search for flights, nothing comes up. Half of the time, the domestic flight is the issue – US airlines tend to release less saver-level award seats than before on domestic routes and due to the limited flights out of Santa Barbara, in this case, you should start searching from bigger cities – like San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, etc.

Those bigger, hub cities have more flights and more international airlines which usually offer more availability than US airlines. It is much easier to fly Business Class to Europe on a European airline than a US airline due to award availability. In our example, say you found availability out of a major US West Coast city – then you would need to make your own way from Santa Barbara to that city. If there is saver-level award availability that works with your itinerary, you can usually add that on to your booking without issue (depending on the frequent flyer program you are using).

Always search from bigger cities that have more connections and airlines – international airlines tend to have more availability and it is generally fairly easy to book a short domestic flight to get to your international departure gateway city.

Flexibility is Key

The most important thing to note is that you must be flexible. If you have a set date that you need to fly on and are looking for multiple premium cabin tickets, you can forget about it – it is highly unlikely that the exact flight you want will be available on that exact date for all of your travelers.

It is much easier to find award availability if you search over the whole summer instead of if you limit yourself to two weeks in July, for example. You should always book flights first, followed by hotels, followed by activities. Flights will be the hardest to book on miles and points and those are usually the most important aspect of the whole trip. Remember that most US frequent flyer programs no longer have any change or cancellation fees – so you can always book an award and change it later, should something better open up.

Another part of being flexible means flying separately – while not ideal, it may be the only way your family of 4 can fly to Europe in Business Class. Finding 2 seats on a flight and 2 on another will be much easier than finding 4 seats in the premium cabin all on one flight. This could mean that part of your family arrives at your destination a day before, or you could potentially line up flights that you all arrive roughly at the same time.

Switch Destinations

Some destinations are more popular than other ones – and during peak summer, it is very possible that a majority of the flights to where you want to go will be sold out. There are more people traveling nowadays than before, so flights are full – and airlines are constantly changing their schedules as well. If the destination you want to fly to has no availability, consider flying elsewhere and then taking either a regional flight on a separate booking or perhaps a train to end up where you want to be.

If you are heading to Europe and are planning to visit several places all on one trip, changing up their order and being flexible on the dates will open up more availability for you. Don’t lock yourself in to be somewhere on a specific date – find the availability of the flights first, change up your plans a bit, and then make solid plans after booking.

Diversify Your Miles & Points

It is incredibly important that you diversify your miles & points – do not collect miles with just one airline and expect to use them for travel anywhere; that probably won’t work. While collecting miles with various airlines definitely helps and opens your options, the best way to collect miles and points is with transferable points programs such as American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Collecting points with these transferable points programs has a number of benefits such as the ability to then transfer them to various airlines and hotels. For example, if you have AMEX Membership Rewards points you’re able to transfer them to a number of airlines – if one airline has no availability chances are another might and therefore your options are always open. The other benefit of collecting these points is that they generally do not expire as long as you have the account/credit card open, while airline miles might expire after some time or inactivity.

be flexible where you visit this summer

All in All

Everyone is excited for summer – it is the best time of the year for most of us, we are able to unwind and relax after busy months and gloomy weather. The world offers so many incredible summer destinations that your family might have a hard time deciding where to vacation – just remember to check flight availability before you make any solid plans. Remember to be flexible on your dates and travel route – this will only help you find something that works. Be open to other destinations and if necessary, fly separately if there are better flight options. Last summer was a crazy one with airlines changing and canceling flights constantly due to shortages, but this summer is looking much brighter with more flights added and new destinations for many airlines.

The post Summer Travel Booking Tips appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Virgin Atlantic is joining the SkyTeam Alliance soon, which is very exciting as it means we will be able to earn and redeem Virgin Atlantic points on more airlines which belong to the alliance – Virgin already partners with the most important airlines in SkyTeam, so I think the added airlines won’t necessarily be that appealing to everyone, but the more options the better. The great news is that Virgin Atlantic just added a fantastic way to check Delta award availability, which I hope will be extended to more of their partner airlines in the future.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is one of my favorite frequent flyer programs since they offer some really cool redemptions on unique airlines:

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Overview
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Sweet Spots (VS, NZ, DL, SQ, VA)
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Sweet Spots (AF/KL, NH, HA, SA)

Transferring Points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points are fairly easy to acquire since you can transfer them in from most major transferable bank points programs:

• American Express Membership Rewards
  • 1:1 transfer ratio
  • instant transfer
• Capital One Rewards
  • 1:1 transfer ratio to the Virgin Red program
  • instant transfer
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • 1:1 transfer ratio
  • instant transfer
• Citi ThankYou Points
  • 1:1 transfer ratio
  • instant transfer
• Marriott Bonvoy
  • 3:1 transfer ratio (for every 60k Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer, you will get a bonus of 5k Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points)
  • average transfer time is 1-2 days

The transferable bank points programs frequently offer transfer bonuses, for example, like 30% more airline miles/points. Under a bonus like this you would receive 30% more Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points when transferring from a bank program.

Sweet Spots: Redeeming Flying Club Points on Delta Air Lines

One of the best ways to redeem your Virgin Atlantic points is on Delta Air Lines flights, here are a few of the best ways to redeem (sweet spots):

• UK <-> US (BOS, JFK): Economy Class: 15k, Delta One: 47.5k
• UK <-> US (ATL, DTW, MSP): Economy Class: 17.5k, Delta One: 47.5k
• UK <-> US (SLC): Economy Class: 20k
• Europe (excluding the UK) <-> US: Delta One: 50k
• all other flights with range of 0 – 500 miles flown: Economy Class: 7.5k
• all other flights with range of 501 – 1,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 8.5k
• all other flights with range of 1,001 – 1,500 miles flown: Economy Class: 11.5k
• all other flights with range of 1,501 – 2,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 12.5k
• all other flights with range of 2,001 – 3,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 15k
• all other flights with range of 3,001 – 4,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 22.5k

Partner Delta Award Availability

Delta has a terrible frequent flyer program. They regularly charge 350k+ miles for a one-way Business Class ticket to Europe while other airlines charge somewhere around 50-80k miles/points for the same routing. Thankfully, Delta does release award availability to partner airlines which means you can book the same flight for less miles through Delta’s partners – while the amount of award space may not be huge, they still do release it.

Up until now, it has been a pain to check award availability on Delta’s flights that are bookable through partner airlines – you basically had to check day-by-day using Air France/KLM or Virgin Atlantic and then if found, book it through one of these programs as the amount of miles required is significantly less than if booking through Delta.

Virgin Atlantic’s New Award Availability Tool

Virgin Atlantic has just introduced an incredible new tool that shows you an award availability calendar for either their own flights or Delta Air Lines flights – the incredible thing is that the calendar shows exactly how many seats are available both in Economy Class and Business Class each day of the month.

For example, let’s say we want to fly from London (LHR) to Seattle (SEA) on Delta. We would visit Virgin’s new award search tool:

https://travelplus.virginatlantic.com/reward-flight-finder

and then simply input our flight details:

Virgin Atlantic’s New Award Availability Tool

then we get a wonderful month’s view and are shown what is available and what isn’t:

Virgin Atlantic’s New Award Availability Tool

and based on that information, we can quickly confirm (using a new search on Virgin’s main page) that the flight is in fact available:

Delta award availability using Virgin Atlantic points

and, just for laughs, compare how many miles Delta wants for their own flight:

Delta award availability using Delta miles

The award availability we find on Virgin’s calendar for Delta flights should also exactly match what we can find with Air France/KLM since Delta will simply release seats either to no partners or all partners – so if a Delta flight is bookable through Virgin Atlantic, it should also be with AF/KL.

All in All

I love both flying Virgin Atlantic and redeeming their points. While their frequent flyer program may not be able to take you to every place in the world, it does offer some unique redemption opportunities on a number of airlines. The best part is that most of Virgin Atlantic’s phone agents are very competent and know what you are talking about when you want to make a booking on a partner airline using points.

Virgin Atlantic’s new award availability tool is incredible – to be able to easily check a month’s worth of availability quickly is very powerful. While this tool was just launched, my hope is that Virgin Atlantic makes searching for award space on more of their partner airlines available this way – and that eventually all of their partners will be fully bookable online (right now you have to call to book some of their airline partners).

The post New & Easy Way to Check Partner Delta Award Availability appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Airline schedule changes are very common if you booked your flight months in advance – airlines frequently update their schedules which means that either your flight could be moved by a few minutes (or hours), or it could be cancelled completely. Schedule changes don’t just include changes but also cancellations. When an airline changes your flight by more than 2 hours, in most cases you can receive a full refund of your unflown ticket – or you can rebook at no charge on something that works for you. Some airlines are more generous than others and each airline has their own policy in the event of a schedule change.

The most important thing to understand is that you do have options and you are in control if you are affected by a schedule change.

understand your options if you’re affected by a schedule change

Schedule Changes of <2 Hours

If your flight’s schedule was changed and it resulted in a difference in timing of under 2 hours, most airlines won’t let you do anything about it. Some are more generous and allow free changes/refunds if the change was only 1 hour – be sure to check with your airline what their policy is.

If your airline’s policy is free changes/refunds only if you are affected by more than two hours and your flight was changed by less than that, you still have options – review your itinerary and see if anything else was changed. For example, if you have a connecting flight and if your connection time was decreased as a result of the change and you don’t think you can reasonably make your connection, let the airline know and ask for a different flight. If multiple flights in your booking were changed, that would also be a valid reason to bring up when speaking to the airline if you wish to rebook.

Schedule Changes of 2 Hours or More

Most airlines allow you to fully refund your unused ticket if the timing of your flight was changed by more than two hours – while this is the official policy, airlines love to get away with anything they can, so you may have to speak to a few different agents/supervisors before someone approves your request. Look up the official policy of the airline and screenshot it and send that to them along with your schedule-changed booking.

If you would rather rebook and not cancel, you should also be able to do that for free – now, you probably cannot move your flight by 6 months for no charge, but a change of up to a few weeks should be allowed and reasonable. Some airlines only allow you to change to the day before or after – if this doesn’t work for you, do not give up and speak to someone higher up and ask for the flight you would like.

Hang up and call again – this is the golden rule in the miles/points and travel community – if you do not get the solution you want the first time (and you understand the rules and are within them), call again and keep trying.

No Available Flights?

Airlines have partnerships with other airlines – this is so your airline can fly you and sell you a ticket to somewhere where they don’t fly through the help of their airline partners. If there are no other available flights on the airline you booked, they should be able to rebook you on their partner airlines for no additional cost – assuming there is space available on the flight.

When asking to be rebooked on another airline, some less-experienced agents may be unwilling to rebook you so you many need to speak with someone higher up. The policies at airlines differ so some airlines may actually not have any partners that fly to the destination you’re going to, in which case you will have to simply accept a full refund or wait until the next flight the airline operates.

Schedule Changes on Mileage Tickets

Rebooking a mileage ticket after a schedule change is a little different than a cash/revenue ticket – some airlines treat both ticket types equally, in which case you’re golden. Some airlines have recently made it a habit of leaving passengers stranded if a flight is changed or cancelled, there is no award availability, and you booked using miles – something that they definitely shouldn’t do.

If you booked using miles and your flight was changed or cancelled and the airline operates other flights to where you are going, they can easily open up award space on the other flights and rebook you without a problem. If they do not operate other flights and their partners have no award availability, what they should do is simply book you into a revenue booking class (as if you booked your ticket using cash) – however, recently, more and more airlines have been denying this and refusing – something they should definitely not do if there are literally no other options.

hang up and call again if you talk with an incompetent agent

All in All

Schedule changes happen and the further out you book your ticket, the more changes will happen. I tend to book all of my travel a few weeks prior to departure, so I’m not affected by changes as much as others, but they still happen. The main thing to remember is that you can always get a full refund if the schedule on your flight was significantly changed.

Hanging up and calling again and speaking with managers and supervisors will get you further than arguing with one agent who won’t do anything for you. Some airlines have wonderful call center agents who can resolve your issue within minutes and with other airlines, you will have to spend hours on the phone before you accomplish anything. Flight changes are annoying after you’ve planned your trip, but they do happen and by understanding your options, you’re already a step ahead and closer to a solution that works for your trip.

The post Airline Schedule Changes: Your Options appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Lounges at airports are a blessing – you can wait and relax before your flight in addition to usually being able to enjoy a delicious meal or snacks, catch up on work, and have a drink before a long journey. There’s several ways to access airport lounges including by flying First Class or Business Class, being an elite member in a frequent flyer program, holding a lounge invitation, being a premium credit card member, subscribing to a lounge membership program, or even by simply paying at the entrance.

There’s a few different types of airport lounges and each has their own access rules – the same types could even have different access rules, depending on the hours of the day or airport location. Types include:

• airline lounges
• alliance lounges
• lounges operated by banks
• individual lounge networks
• contract lounges

Each has their own set of amenities – some lounges are so basic they feature nothing beyond a separate space from the gate area; others offer spas, sleeping rooms, and showers.

does your ticket feature lounge access?

Customer Service Desk in Lounges

Apart from the main lounge entrance where you provide your access method, airline lounges often have a separate customer service desk whereby lounge agents can assist you with flight changes and anything else you might inquire about. Lounge agents are usually more competent than those in the standard airport customer service desks, so your issues should be quickly resolved.

Comfortable Seating Areas & Sleeping Rooms

The whole purpose of a lounge is to get away from the main gate area to a more peaceful space, which is why lounges feature comfortable seating areas – ranging from recliners, to comfy sofas, to even in some lounges, individual sleeping rooms.

Elevated Food & Drinks in Lounges

Depending on the lounge, you can eat a full dinner and drink your worries away before your flight – some lounges feature an amazing selection of food and snacks along with a full, unlimited bar.

Not all are created equal, some have a really limited selection of food (or even only just snacks). It is important to note that some make you pay for premium food or drinks (or limit you to a certain quantity).

Business Center

While most people travel with their own laptops, lounges usually have a business center with computers and printers, where you can get work done before your flight. There’s also individual working spaces where you can plug in your own laptop and work away.

Showers & Spas

Premium lounges feature showers where a guest can refresh before their flight – towels and bath amenities are provided so there’s no need to carry your own. Some shower rooms are luxurious and feature bath tubs along with other amenities, while others are really basic.

Special Amenities in Lounges

As each lounge is unique, some have opted to provide special amenities to guests – these can include things like a movie room, special seasonal elements, art galleries, cigar areas, restaurant-style dining, and much more.

premium cabin tickets include lounge access

All in All

The more premium the lounge and airline, the more amenities are offered. You can always look up online which ones are available to you at your airport and what you can expect. There are millions of lounge review posts and videos online, so it is best to check which lounge is worth showing up early to and which ones you can skip.

Having access to a lounge these days is mostly standard for many of us as we miles and points travelers usually hold at least one premium credit card featuring lounge access, or elite status that allows us to relax before a flight. Having the ability to grab a bite to eat and catch up on work in a comfortable setting before a flight is something many of us look forward to and arrive early for – I know I do; lounges are a very relaxing pre-flight experience.

The post Amenities in Airport Lounges appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Miles and Points give us the ability to spontaneously fly to visit a friend because we feel like it, or book a last minute staycation for you and your loved one, or take that weekend trip by yourself to just get away from everything. Regardless of how you use your miles and points, giving back to our family and friends is truly important – without them, we are nothing.

The best memories in travel are made when you share them with someone – that special dinner or cocktails during sunset; unforgettable moments. It’s important to give back and take your loved ones on trips – no matter the distance or length.

Travel with Miles to Visit Each Other

One of the easiest ways you can reunite with someone is to see them in person – so why not spontaneously book them a last minute ticket to visit you – or both of you get away somewhere for the weekend? If you don’t have time to travel or your friend/family member is unable, find a middle-ground that works for the both of you.

Using your miles and points for someone else is quite easy – you shouldn’t have issues redeeming your rewards for another person. Being together and sharing moments is what strengthens us and creates those special memories that can be cherished for a lifetime.

redeem your miles for family and friends

Book a Staycation

If you don’t have time or feel like venturing too far from your home, you can easily book a staycation in your home city – find a nice hotel and make plans (what you might do in the city during the day, dinner reservations, etc.) – arrange the stay as if you were doing it somewhere where you don’t live.

Many people have been experimenting with staycations recently as they just don’t have time or the resources to travel, but do still want a break from day-to-day life. You can always redeem your hotel points for a nice stay and invite someone along.

Travel Together with Miles

Most of us, thankfully, have weekends off and that leaves two full days to spend with someone special – a quick weekend trip departing on Friday after lunch and returning on Sunday night could be just what you need. Remember to select a destination with up to 3 hours of flying and on a nonstop flight – this will save a ton of time.

If you’re pressed for time, make sure to plan accordingly and reserve all of your activities beforehand as you don’t want to be scrambling last minute and trying to figure out new plans. Incorporate some luxury to make the trip extra special – fly First Class, visit lounges, stay at a nice hotel, etc. – there’s a budget for everyone and in my opinion, it’s worth overspending on experiences and memories you’ll hold with you forever.

use miles and points for travel both near and far

Redeeming Miles/Points for Others

You can generally redeem your airline miles and points for anyone – some frequent flyer programs have a restriction whereby you need to prove your relationship with that person, though this is rare. Make sure to keep an eye on your email or phone in case the airline calls you to verify that you did indeed redeem your miles for another person.

Redeeming hotel points for someone else is trickier as it generally cannot be done. Some hotel programs do offer you the ability to book using a free night certificate for someone else, but this is the exception rather than the norm. You can always book a hotel reservation for yourself and indicate two guests and add the additional guest’s name onto the reservation and just say you are arriving later.

All in All

Miles and Points give us the ability to create special memories that we normally would not be able to, such as flying First Class or staying at luxurious hotels. These memories are best made when sharing the experience with somebody else as we are nothing without our family and friends – which is why we should always make the time to see them as much as possible, as there is nothing more important in life than making connections with the people we love.

In addition, you can always give back by donating your miles and points to various organizations that help those in need – I usually do this if I have a smaller mileage balance in an account that I know I will not use any time soon.

The post Miles & Points: Giving Back appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

There are currently three major airline alliances: Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam – each of these alliances have several member airlines which closely cooperate to enable passengers a smooth journey when flying multiple airlines. While airline alliances do allow airlines to work closely together, it actually isn’t the highest possible form of partnership – that’s a joint venture (where airlines even share revenue on certain routes).

Benefits when Flying within Alliances

When flying on several alliance member airlines all on one ticket, you can generally expect a smooth journey without having to do much beyond the regular check-in process, even if your travel is on multiple airlines.

• when you initially check in, your boarding passes can be printed all the way to your final destination (even if there are multiple airlines involved)
• your baggage can be checked to your final destination (even if multiple airlines are involved)
• you can earn frequent flyer miles and points with any other program in the same alliance
• airline A can change certain travel aspects on your journey for travel on airlines B, C, D, etc. if they are all in the same alliance
• you can use lounges of other airlines within the same alliance even if flying on another airline (you could be flying Lufthansa and use a United lounge thanks to your Aegean Gold status)

There are also a few other benefits which include services like connecting flight monitoring (if your flight is delayed and you miss your connection, you should be rebooked before you even land), airline co-location in airport terminals for easier transit, and more.

Frequent Flyer Benefits

Frequent flyer benefits apply alliance-wide, for example, if you have Lufthansa Star Alliance Gold Status, you would receive your usual Star Alliance Gold benefits when flying with any other Star Alliance member airline (like lounge access or priority boarding). You would also earn miles on eligible tickets with your frequent flyer program when flying any member airline.

While there are benefits that do carry over when flying other airlines within the same alliance, some elite status perks do not apply for travel on all airlines. For example, if you have United elite status, you are eligible to receive complimentary space-available upgrades when flying United – you wouldn’t receive this benefit on any other member airline as this is a specific benefit of United elite status which only applies when flying on United.

Standard benefits like priority check-in, priority boarding, lounge access, an extra checked bag, etc. apply alliance-wide.

Star Alliance member airlines

Star Alliance is the world’s biggest airline alliance and features the following member airlines:

• Aegean Airlines
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air India
• Air New Zealand
• ANA
• Asiana Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• Avianca
• Brussels Airlines
• Copa Airlines
• Croatia Airlines
• Egyptair
• Ethiopian Airlines
• EVA Air
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa
• SAS Scandinavian Airlines
• Shenzhen Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• SWISS International Air Lines
• TAP Air Portugal
• THAI Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines

Star Alliance also has Connecting Partner airlines which include Juneyao Airlines and THAI Smile.

oneworld member airlines

oneworld is the smallest airline alliance, however most member airlines are world-class and provide top quality service, members include:

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas Airways
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• SriLankan Airlines

Fiji Airways is a oneworld connect member and Oman Air is set to join oneworld in the future.

SkyTeam member airlines

SkyTeam has plenty of airlines, but only a few are actually worth flying as most of the other airlines aren’t great at all; members include:

• Aerolineas Argentinas
• Aeromexico
• AirEuropa
• Air France
• China Airlines
• China Eastern
• CSA Czech Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Garuda Indonesia
• ITA Airways
• Kenya Airways
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
• Korean Air
• MEA
• Saudia
• TAROM
• Vietnam Airlines
• Xiamen Air

ITA Airways is kind of a member and kind of not, the airline was formerly Alitalia and now the current SkyTeam membership isn’t fully complete.

All in All: Airline Alliances

Airline alliances are amazing – being able to fly somewhere where your airline cannot take you and being able to enjoy your usual set of perks and benefits all the way to your final destination is one of the greatest things about flying. Alliance-wide elite status benefits are very important for loyal passengers and they truly make a difference when flying.

Being able to fly a ton of different airlines and earn miles in just one frequent flyer program is yet another big benefit – earning elite status is much easier as you have a wide variety of airlines to select from and different programs in which you can participate; some offer the ability to earn elite status quicker. Flying is such a joy, but flying with elite status is even better – especially when receiving all of the benefits alliance-wide.

The post How Airline Alliances Work appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

The flexibility of using miles and points for travel is one of the biggest benefits – you can redeem miles for virtually most flights in the world. The most incredible flights around the world can be booked as an award ticket with just minimal taxes and fees. Finding award availability may be one key task – but first, you actually need to map out what airline and product you want to fly.

Incredible Flying Experiences

There’s a variety of airlines around the world that offer an incredible flying experience – however there’s a few airlines that stand out and everyone in the miles and points community needs to fly these at least once in their life.

• Air France First Class
• ANA First and Business Class
• Cathay Pacific First Class
• Emirates First Class
• Etihad Airways First Class
• JAL First and Business Class
• Lufthansa First Class
• Qatar Airways First and Business Class
• Qantas Airways First Class
• Singapore Airlines First and Business Class

There’s of course more airlines offering incredible flying experiences, but these main ones come to mind when redeeming miles and points.

fly Lufthansa with miles & points

Determining Your Route

After you’ve decided what product you would like to fly, you have to find where that airline operates the particular product you want to fly. For example, let’s say we are looking at Lufthansa First Class, we know that LH operates flights out of their hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, Germany. You can easily find the hubs of an airline by running a simple Google search.

You’ll then need to determine on what routes your desired product is offered. In the case of Lufthansa, they only have one First Class product which is offered only on intercontinental flights – however not all Lufthansa long-haul aircraft feature a First cabin and therefore you must research where First operates – usually to their most popular destinations like New York or Los Angeles.

Google Flights is your friend as you can easily run a worldwide search from Frankfurt/Munich in First Class and you’ll be shown the schedule.

Finding Miles & Points Award Availability

After locating your desired route, you’ll need to search for award availability on your desired dates. Do note that you must be flexible, otherwise you probably won’t be able to find anything decent. Remember that you can always adjust your flights later should something better open up.

Each airline has their own rules and policies in place and you’ll know about these once you’ve researched enough about the airline and their award availability trends. In the case of Lufthansa, they only release First Class award seats to partner airlines at most two weeks prior to departure. Some routes are easier than others in terms of finding award space and in the case of Lufthansa First Class, shorter routes will be easier to book.

Planning a Multi-Airline Journey with Points

You can of course fly multiple aspirational airline products all on one journey – it all comes down to whether or not there’s availability and if your routes match up alongside of the dates of travel. It is totally possible to mix various airlines on one ticket and sample multiple First Class cabins in a row.

You can generally book multiple airlines on one ticket if those airlines partner with the frequent flyer program you’re using to book your ticket – in some cases you can easily book the flights online and other times you’ll need to call if your itinerary is more complicated.

Planning and booking an aspirational trip which includes several, world-class airlines is no easy task, from locating your desired experience to planning around the availability, to actually booking the ticket, the process is more complicated than it’s made out to be.

fly Qatar Airways with miles & points

All in All

Flying using miles and points is super fun as you can easily fly around the world in some of the world’s top airlines and experience true luxury. With the right mindset and planning, anything becomes possible.

It all comes down to knowing what you want to experience and heavily researching how that can become possible. If you don’t know exactly what you want to fly, you should research and familiarize yourself with the most aspirational flying experiences available on miles and points. Finding award availability might be a challenge, but with flexibility and planning, almost anything is possible with miles and points.

The post First Steps in Finding a Flight with Points appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

The value of miles and points differs and is based on a variety of factors – for example, which points you are using, what airline you’re flying on, and what cabin you are flying in. In general, every type of mile and point in our frequent flyer world has been assigned a “value” and how much it is worth – while there are an infinite number of ways to redeem your points, you will often find the best value when you redeem for flights by transferring to airline partners.

find the value of your points before redeeming

The Value of Miles and Points

The value of a mile or point depends on what program it belongs to. For example, American Express Membership Rewards points are generally worth 2 cents each, so 10,000 points is worth $200. This doesn’t mean that you can just go directly to American Express and cash out your points at this value. Rather, this value is assigned by us – those who know how to use their points towards maximum value.

In fact, if you want to apply your AMEX points as a statement credit towards charges you’ve made on your credit card, you might even get less than 1 cent-per-point in value (which is awful). You are able to redeem your points towards merchandise, gift cards, and other items through the bank directly – generally at a rate of 1 cent per point. So a $100 gift card would cost 10,000 points, give or take.

While some people might want to cash out their points for gift cards, it is never good value – you should always be looking to use your points and miles towards their maximum potential, which is redeeming them for international First and Business Class.

Determining Value in a Redemption

How do you exactly determine if it is worth using points for an award ticket? It is quite simple – you start with the value of your points. Let’s continue with our AMEX Membership Rewards example – each point is worth 2 cents.

Let’s say you found a Business Class ticket for 60,000 Aeroplan points from New York to London and would like to book it. As Aeroplan is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, you can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio, therefore requiring 60,000 AMEX points for this redemption.

value of 60,000 points = $1,200 (60,000 * 0.02)

In this case the value of the points we use is $1,200 and when looking up the cost of our ticket in cash, it is around $5,000 – therefore this would be considered an excellent redemption as you are getting way more value out of your points.

Avoid “Bad” Award Redemptions

Everyone says you should use your points for award tickets – and they’re right. However, there is a clear line between using cash or points for a flight – the value of your points and the cost of a ticket. If you are wanting to redeem your points for an award ticket and you are getting less value from your points, you definitely want to pay cash instead.

For example, let’s say we found a flight from Seattle to San Francisco for 10,000 Aeroplan points (which is 10,000 AMEX points). The value of those AMEX points is $200, using the formula and value of points. However, when we look up the cost of the ticket we want to book, the cash price is just $150.

In this case, we should just pay for the flight using cash because it only costs $150 – and if we were to use points for it, we would be using $200 worth of points (10,000 points) – which would be a bad redemption as the points have more value.

redemptions aren’t equal – find the value first

Use Your Points Wisely

Having miles and points is great – but you shouldn’t spend them all at once just because you have them; saving points when needed is very important – and helps you get closer to your next trip. It is totally okay to mix and match cash and points tickets on your trips – not all flights have to be booked using miles/points.

When planning a trip, remember to research all possible ways to book your flights – both with cash and with miles/points. You will find that different airlines have different redemption options – and it may just be cheaper to book an award flight with a partner airline instead of directly with the airline you’re wanting to fly.

Remember to do the math and work out the value of your redemption based on how much the points you are using are worth and how much the actual ticket costs in cash.

There’s a small twist in all of this, ultimately at the end of the day, your points and your miles are exactly that – yours. If you feel like you want to use points instead of cash on a flight because that’s how you planned your trip, then go ahead – they’re your points and you decide how to use them. Just make sure you aren’t using them for the sake of using points, but rather because the value is decent.

All in All

Travel is not free and neither are miles and points. While you will find travel using miles being advertised as “free” all over the internet, that is not true. There is a value for everything and the miles and points you have are technically assigned a value. Sure, you may have earned the points by making regular purchases you would have anyway, but there will always be some sort of determining factor assigned to those rewards as to if the redemption is worth it or not.

The simplest way to find the value of your points is by running a Google search – different blogs value points differently, but in general, the value doesn’t differ much. Everyone earns and uses points in different ways, so at the end of the day only you are able to make the final call if it is worth using your points on a particular flight or if you should save them for the future.

The post Finding Value of Redeemed Points appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

A very new popular way to fly on long-haul flights is in Premium Economy – this cabin class features more amenities and benefits, along with a comfortable extra-large, wide recliner seat in the sky. The Premium Economy experience has significantly improved over the past few years – many airlines began to offer this new cabin to passengers who frequently requested a more comfortable way to fly – not at a Business Class price.

Premium Economy Overview

Not all airlines offer Premium Economy – just like some airlines do not offer First Class, while most airlines offer both Economy Class and Business Class. Premium Class is meant to bridge the gap between Economy and Business Class travel – at an affordable cost. Most airlines price their Premium seats closer to Economy Class fares rather than Business Class prices. It is important to note that most airlines only offer true Premium Economy on long-haul flights.

The Premium seat varies from airline to airline, but it generally is an extra-large, wide recliner seat with more legroom. Think of US domestic First Class, but better. Premium seats do not go fully flat, but they do recline significantly more than Economy Class seats. The cabin configuration is usually in a 2-4-2 or 2-3-2 arrangement on wide-body aircraft.

British Airways has offered Premium Economy for a long time

Premium Benefits

A Premium ticket comes with elevated benefits and while it is up to each airline to decide what’s included, most of these tickets offer the following:

• premium/priority check-in
• two free checked bags
• complimentary seat assignment
• lounge access for a reduced fee
• priority boarding

The benefits on these tickets are correctly integrated and aligned with this class of service; some airlines may offer more benefits.

Premium Amenities

While the airport experience might be similar to that of an Economy Class passenger, the main difference is in the sky. In addition to the superb and comfortable seat, a Premium ticket will often include:

• welcome drink (water, juice, or champagne)
• dedicated and elevated menu featuring more dining options
• a drink menu with more choice than in Economy Class
• drinks and meals aren’t served in plastic containers
• more comfortable and thicker pillow and blanket
• bottle of water at your seat
• larger entertainment screen
• better quality headphones

The amenities featured on the aircraft are different than those of Economy Class, and more tailored to this premium travel experience.

Delta’s Premium Economy is relatively new

Earning Miles

When it comes to earning miles for these premium tickets, most frequent flyer programs will award you between 100% – 150% miles based on the distance flown (revenue-based programs will award you miles based on your ticket price). While Economy Class mileage earning can sometimes be 0% – 25% for the cheapest tickets, Premium tickets usually award you at least the full distance flown (all depending on your fare and frequent flyer program).

These premium tickets have been great for qualifying or renewing frequent flyer elite status because they can often be found for a great deal and award plenty of miles. For example, take the following flight prices for a round trip from London to New York:

• Economy Class: $500
• Premium Economy Class: $800
• Business Class: $3,800
• First Class: $6,500

Note that these are the cheapest prices I was able to find on a random date. The Economy Class ticket is the cheapest but will only award you 25% miles based on the distance flown vs. the Premium ticket will award you 100% miles based on the distance flown only for a price difference of $300 (in addition to a much better flying experience).

Redeeming Miles for Premium Economy

Redeeming miles for travel in Premium is tricky – that’s because not every airline offers the product, and those that do, might restrict what you can redeem your miles for. Generally speaking if you are using the miles of the airline you are wanting to fly, you obviously will be able to. However, the issues begin when you’re wanting to use a partner airline’s miles – even if that partner airline offers Premium redemptions on their own flights, more often than not, you won’t be able to use those miles on another airline for travel in Premium Economy.

Redemptions in the miles and points world have often been only focused around Economy, Business, and First Class. Premium Economy Class is a relatively new development and there aren’t any alliance-wide rules on how those tickets should be handled, so as of now, it is up to each airline. It is best to check with your loyalty program for details on how you can redeem those miles.

All in All

Premium Economy is one of my favorite ways to fly on 5 – 8 hour daytime flights, where sometimes I may want to work and don’t necessarily need a lie-flat seat or all of the additional amenities/benefits. If a flight is generally over 10 hours, Business Class is preferred – but those short hops between New York and London, for example, are perfect for Premium.

While the flying experience is significantly elevated and much better than that of Economy Class, I think one of the most powerful Premium Class benefits is the ability to earn 100% miles based on the distance flown when crediting to some frequent flyer programs, all because these tickets can often be found at a great price.

The post Premium Economy: Amenities, Benefits, and Miles appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

The benefit of flying to Hawaii is that from the West Coast, all major islands are accessible with just a 5 hour flight; nonstops are available from the East Coast and they take around 10 hours – best of all, you don’t need a passport to travel to these paradise islands (which for some is a huge convenience). Hawaii is not as cheap as Mexico or some of the Caribbean islands and in fact, it is frequently considered overpriced by many – however, flights to and within Hawaii are generally very affordable.

When flying to Hawaii, some travelers opt to stay on one island for their entire trip while others hop around and explore the islands. There are a ton of flights available between each island so you will always have plenty of options – award availability in Economy Class on these short flights is practically unlimited (provided you don’t fly over peak dates). The two main airlines that fly between the Hawaiian islands are Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines, and both offer good deals on flights. There are smaller airlines that fly in between some islands, but there’s no good way to redeem miles or points for those flights.

fly to/within Hawaii using miles/points

Flying Southwest Airlines within Hawaii

Southwest Airlines entered the Hawaiian market a few years ago and they offer flights between the major islands. Flights are generally priced between $39 – $79+ USD per flight, which isn’t a bad deal if you are paying $39, but can be costly if you are paying upwards of $59 – especially if flying with a family. Thankfully, you can redeem Southwest points for these flights (which you can earn by transferring from Chase Ultimate Rewards).

Looking at Southwest’s flight schedule, a flight costing $39 will cost approximately 2,163 points + $5.60, which I would consider to be a decent price. Flights costing $59 will run you around 3,706 points + $5.60. Southwest’s program is revenue-based, so the more expensive the flight is the more it will cost in points.

Generally passengers flying Southwest Airlines from the mainland US to Hawaii will also fly Southwest within Hawaii, as those who fly the airline generally love it and are very loyal.

The Airline of Hawaii: Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines obviously operates plenty of flights between the Hawaiian islands (and beyond). Like with Southwest Airlines, flights are reasonably priced and they start at around $39 and work their way up depending on what day of the week you’re flying. If you are flying over peak dates or over holidays, expect to pay more. Last minute flights don’t cost a fortune and rather it depends on the day of the week you are flying.

For example, looking at a flight from Lihue/Kauai (LIH) to Honolulu (HNL), the prices are as follows:

• Monday – Thursday: $39
• Friday/Sunday: $59
• Saturday: $49

These prices, of course can change, but generally that’s how much that route will cost you.

Hawaiian Airlines Partners

As Hawaiian Airlines is a major US carrier, they do partner with a bunch of airlines – which does mean that you can earn and redeem miles on Hawaiian Airlines flights. Do note that not all Hawaiian Airlines partner airlines allow you to redeem their miles for Hawaiian flights – and those that do, might not let you redeem them on routes outside of Hawaii, for example.

Hawaiian Airlines currently partners with:

• American Airlines
• China Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Japan Airlines
• jetBlue Airways
• Korean Air
• United Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin Australia

First of all, you can of course redeem Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles for these flights – the redemption starts at 7,500 miles + $5.60 for a one-way intra-Hawaii Economy flight. You can transfer points into Hawaiian Airlines from American Express Membership Rewards.

Right now, Hawaiian Airlines currently has a special offer available: redeem just 4,000 miles + $5.60 for a one-way island flight (instead of 7,500 miles). When you stack this with the 20% transfer bonus that is currently available from American Express, you could potentially get an incredible deal (depending on what the cash cost is). You have to redeem your Hawaiian Airlines miles through 28 February 2023 for this special pricing to apply.

Redeeming Partner Airlines Miles

While Hawaiian Airlines does partner with the above airlines, not all allow you to redeem their miles for Hawaiian Airlines flights. Let’s focus on the following partner airlines that allow redemptions on intra-Island Hawaiian Airlines flights and are easily accessible to us.

Pricing of a one-way Hawaiian Airlines flight within Hawaii in Economy Class:

• American Airlines (transfer in points from Marriott): 7,500 miles
• Delta Air Lines (transfer in points from AMEX/Marriott): 7,500 miles
• United Airlines (transfer in points from Chase/Marriott): 7,700 – 8,400 miles
• Virgin Atlantic (transfer in points from AMEX/Capital One/Chase/Citi/Marriott): 7,500 miles

… plus $5.60 in taxes/fees.

Depending on how you acquired the points in a given program, some booking options may work better for you than others. Keep in mind that Delta and United do not have an award chart so these prices may rise over time.

If the flight costs $39 and you’re paying 7,500 miles, you are getting a bad deal. If the flights is $79 and you are paying 4-5,000 miles (for example, with a transfer bonus), then the value is much better.

fly to/within Hawaii using miles/points

All in All

Flights to and within Hawaii might actually be the cheapest part of your Hawaii holiday – the reason why the flights are relatively inexpensive and there’s plenty of award availability is because there are a ton of flights – within the islands and between the mainland US; after all, Hawaii does need to be connected with the rest of the world. Whether you are redeeming miles on a flight or paying for it in cash, you will love Hawaii – featuring spectacular beaches, delicious food, and kind locals, you may never want to leave.

Keep in mind you can also redeem your bank points directly through a bank travel portal (for a cash ticket) and depending on which credit card you have, that may be the better option (and you could also potentially earn miles on these flights). Who’s planning a holiday to Hawaii soon?

The post Booking Intra-Island Hawaii Flights appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

The beginning of each year gives us the opportunity to evaluate last year’s travel patterns – especially flying and hotel stays – and if we want to continue with the loyalty programs we have been using; both frequent flyer programs and frequent guest programs are as equally important. The best time of the year to make the switch to a different air or hotel loyalty program is at the beginning as you haven’t had any significant activity post to those accounts/programs yet.

Let’s say that last year you were loyal to United Airlines but didn’t find much value in the program based on your travel patterns and you flew a few flights with American Airlines and enjoyed the benefits and perks of AAdvantage, then perhaps now is the time to make the switch. Many air and hotel loyalty programs offer status matches, which means that they will match your status based on select criteria in the program you’d like to start using; some may offer a status challenge whereby you need to stay a certain number of nights or fly a certain amount to maintain the status beyond the trial period.

There are a few factors which you should take into consideration when selecting the best loyalty program for you and your family, you can apply the same key points when making a decision to switch to a different program.

can your loyalty program help you explore the world?

How Many Miles/Points You Earn

One of the most important aspects of a loyalty program is how many miles/points it awards you for your flights or hotel stays. Some programs award miles based on how much you spend on a flight and some based on how much you actually fly. Hotels generally award you points for how much you spend on a hotel night and unlike with flights, you actually have to credit a hotel stay to that hotel chain. When you fly, you always have the option of crediting your flight to a partner airline’s program – which might actually gain you more miles.

For example, if you fly with United Airlines you might find that if you credit your flight to Lufthansa, their partner, you might actually earn more miles as United awards you miles based on the ticket cost (on a United flight) – whereas Lufthansa will award you miles based on the distance flown for flights on United. You do not have to credit your miles to the airline with which you fly the most – sometimes always flying airline A and crediting to airline B makes the most sense. You should also check how else you can earn miles/points in your desired program – for example, for hotel stays, car rentals, online shopping, etc.

Loyalty Program Credit Card

Research and check if your program offers a credit card that awards you points for spending – this can be a huge determining factor on what program you should be loyal to. We all spend money and if we can be rewarded for spending, then that’s a no-brainer and you should pick up the credit card that earns you the most amount of miles/points based on what you frequently spend on. You might also want to check if you can transfer in points to your desired program from a major transferable bank points program.

Elite Status Benefits

If you fly a lot, elite status will matter. From upgrades to priority everything, perks like these are important to have when you’re frequently flying. Some frequent flyer programs offer more benefits than others – for example, one airline might offer you free upgrades but no lounge access if you have elite status, and another program might offer you both. Carefully looking at the benefits for each elite status level is important when making your decision on what program you should credit your flying to. Similarly with hotel programs, some offer stronger benefits (Marriott and Hyatt) while others don’t even guarantee you late check-out or upgrades (Hilton).

Loyalty Program Award Redemptions

The best part of a loyalty program is actually using the miles and points earned – one of the most important aspects of a loyalty program is how great of a redemption it can offer you. Each frequent flyer program determines how an award redemption works with them – some are distance-based and some are revenue-based, for award flight redemptions. You should look at your aspirational award redemptions and then analyze which program will offer you the best value when spending your miles – you should stay away from revenue-based programs and rather focus on traditional frequent flyer programs which still publish award charts, as those offer superior value.

The whole purpose of a loyalty program is to reward you for your loyalty, and some programs reward you better than others – it is crucial to look over your past redemptions and benefits earned and determine if the value you received was good or if you can get something better from a different program. Being loyal to more than one program is always an option, too.

a loyalty program should offer you superior benefits

All in All

It is never easy selecting the “right” program because no program has everything you could want – that’s why people who travel a lot are often loyal to multiple airlines and hotel chains and then pick and select which one happens to work best for that specific flight or hotel stay. If you easily earn status with your primary program and have left over status miles or credits, perhaps it might also be time to look at a second loyalty program which you could use alongside of your existing program.

The best way to determine if you should switch programs or not is to review your past years earnings, redemptions, benefits used, how easy it was to engage in the program, the customer service, etc., everyone has different travel patterns so there isn’t one single program that will work for everyone and rather you have to make that choice based on your past and future travels and the benefits that work for you the best – even if you live in an airline’s hub city, sometimes it might make sense to be loyal to a competing airline that might offer better fares. Loyalty Programs do a lot to attract customers – some are better than others and each traveler will find different value from a given program.

The post Selecting the Best Loyalty Program appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

In 2023 my personal travel goal is to visit as many exotic and tropical destinations as possible – some new to me and some that I’ve already been to; for the most part, I’m over “city” holidays – I’ve visited all of the major cities I’ve wanted to and explored their culture and sights. That, of course, doesn’t mean I won’t be visiting cities in the future, but rather my main focus is to travel to beachy tropical destinations more often as laying on the beach is obviously more relaxing than visiting a museum.

Cash/revenue ticket prices to some highly popular tropical destinations can be really expensive, but generally there is some award availability to these places using miles – it might be in Economy, but you can usually find it if you are flexible. Keep in mind that it is much easier to cancel and refund an award ticket rather than a cash ticket – so you can book with more flexibility.

Flying on Miles to Tropical Destinations

I’ve highlighted some exotic destinations and what major airlines (that you can redeem miles on) fly there and from what major cities (smaller, regional cities with low or no connectivity are not listed). Remember that the best way to search for award availability is segment by segment and on a partner airline website of the airline that you want to fly. For example, if you want to fly New York to Male via Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways, you should search availability on Air Canada Aeroplan separately for the two flights; once you confirm the availability, you could redeem with any Etihad Airways partner airline.

The cost in miles will vary depending on what route you book, what airline you fly, and the frequent flyer program you use. Remember that the cost in miles and the rules on the award ticket are always determined by the airline issuing your ticket. If the frequent flyer program you are using allows you to change or cancel your ticket for free, then there really is no harm in locking in a ticket and changing it later – just remember there always has to be award availability.

fly to tropical destinations with miles

French Polynesia

All international flights arrive into Papeete, Tahiti (PPT) and then you can book a cash flight on the local airline, Air Tahiti, should you wish to explore other islands in French Polynesia. There’s no good way to use miles or points on domestic flights on Air Tahiti other than perhaps going through a bank travel portal and applying some of your points towards a cash ticket.

• Air France: Los Angeles
• Air New Zealand: Auckland
• Air Tahiti Nui: Auckland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tokyo
• Aircalin: Noumea
• Delta Air Lines: Los Angeles
• Hawaiian Airlines: Honolulu
• United Airlines: San Francisco

Seychelles

All international flights arrive into Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) where you have the option of exploring paradise. There is generally good availability on the shorter international flights, so if you are flying from North America or Europe, multiple flights will be required – but so worth it. The national airline, Air Seychelles, currently has no airline partners that would allow you to redeem their miles on Air Seychelles flights, so it isn’t included in the list.

• Air Mauritius: Mauritius
• Condor: Frankfurt
• Edelweiss Air: Zurich
• Emirates: Dubai
• Ethiopian Airlines: Addis Ababa
• Etihad Airways: Abu Dhabi
• Kenya Airways: Nairobi
• Qatar Airways: Doha
• SriLankan Airlines: Colombo
• Turkish Airlines: Istanbul

Mauritius

If you fancy a visit to the tropical destination island of Mauritius, located in the Indian Ocean, you have plenty of flight options available. Having recently been to this gorgeous country, I can confirm that there is plenty of award availability – even in Business Class, if you are flexible. A trip to Mauritius can be combined with a Safari in South Africa, for example.

• Air France: Paris
• Air Mauritius: Cape Town, Delhi, Geneva, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Mumbai, Nairobi, Paris, Perth, Seychelles, Shanghai
• Austrian Airlines: Vienna
• British Airways: London
• Condor: Frankfurt
• Edelweiss Air: Zurich
• Emirates: Dubai
• Eurowings Discover: Frankfurt
• Kenya Airways: Nairobi
• Lufthansa: Frankfurt
• Saudia: Jeddah, Riyadh
• South African Airways: Johannesburg
• Turkish Airlines: Istanbul

Maldives

The most talked about and aspirational destination in the miles and points world is the Maldives – a country made up of many islands and atolls in the Indian Ocean. Not only is it really easy to fly to the Maldives on miles and points (even in Business Class), there are tons of points hotels in the country – all of which will make you want to never return home. Due to the number of flight options into the Maldives, it is relatively easy to redeem your miles for a ticket to paradise.

• Air France: Paris
• Air India: Bangalore, Mumbai
• Austrian Airlines: Vienna
• British Airways: London
• Condor: Frankfurt
• Edelweiss Air: Zurich
• Emirates: Colombo, Dubai
• Etihad Airways: Abu Dhabi
• Gulf Air: Bahrain, Colombo
• Iberia: Madrid
• ITA Airways: Rome
• Lufthansa: Frankfurt
• Qatar Airways: Colombo, Doha
• Saudia: Jeddah, Riyadh, Singapore
• Singapore Airlines: Singapore
• SriLankan Airlines: Colombo
• Turkish Airlines: Istanbul
• Virgin Atlantic: London

Fiji

A tropical destination in the South Pacific which leaves you feeling relaxed and refreshed – from the breathtaking beaches to friendly locals to delicious food, why wouldn’t you want to visit? In the past few years, Fiji has become more accessible thanks to Fiji Airways, the flag carrier, expanding their partnerships with various airlines around the world – which only means that getting to Fiji is much easier now than ten years ago.

• Air New Zealand: Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington
• Aircalin: Noumea
• Fiji Airways: Adelaide, Apia, Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Melbourne, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Vancouver, Wellington
• Qantas: Sydney
• Virgin Australia: Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney

fly to tropical destinations with miles

All in All: Fly to Tropical Destinations

Aren’t some of these tropical destinations incredible? I’ve been to a few, but not all of them yet – the main reason why I collect miles and points isn’t to redeem them on a domestic ticket that can be purchased for $100, but rather I redeem them for travel around the world – to destinations where a cash ticket would normally cost a significant amount, especially in the premium cabin. When you have miles, the whole world is possible – they really give you the ability to see the world in ways that normally you wouldn’t be able to; for example, many frequent flyer programs offer free stopovers on award tickets whereas cash tickets very rarely have this ability.

With only a few days into the new year, I’m already planning out travels to some of these incredible destinations and I plan to take some family and friends along since travel is always better and more memorable when you are sharing the experiences with someone close to you. Happy New Year, everyone, and enjoy redeeming and collecting those miles!

The post Tropical Destinations with Miles & Points appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

The new year of 2023 is quickly approaching and it looks like it will be a fantastic travel year with most of the world having returned to normal – last minute trips without the need to check restrictions are already possible and this will only expand to more countries in the coming months. When we welcome a new year, we welcome new possibilities in all aspects of our lives – especially travel and miles & points; some have already planned every trip for the next year and some don’t have a clue where to explore – the world is open again and it is time to plan another great adventure.

where will miles & points take you in 2023?

Airline & Hotel Elite Status

Every end of the year in the miles and points world means a few things – the biggest is that on January 1st, elite status counters reset to “0 miles flown” and “0 hotel nights”, which means we must once again re-qualify for elite status with airlines and hotels. If you haven’t fully completed your airline flights or hotel stays to qualify or renew your elite status, you only have a few days left. Be sure to check your airline and hotel accounts carefully and determine if the remaining days of 2022 will be sufficient to achieve your goals.

Miles & Points Credit Card Credits

The new year means a new year of benefits and credits if you have the right tools in the miles & points world… mainly, premium travel credit cards. In the few remaining days, you need to do an inventory if you’ve used up all of your credits for 2022 and perhaps plan how you will use your 2023 credits. Premium Travel Credit Cards offer a variety of credits ranging from airline incidental fees to digital entertainment streaming charges – all of which you should fully use up if you’re paying an annual fee for a premium credit card. Keep in mind some credits are offered monthly, some bi-yearly, and some yearly. It is easy to check on your bank’s website which credits you’ve used and which ones still remain available – be sure to use up as much as you can as these will reset on January 1st.

The most popular credits include:

• general travel (covering airline tickets, hotel stays, car rental fees, etc.)
• airline incidentals (checked baggage charges, seat upgrades, etc.)
• hotel stays (premium hotels booked through the bank’s travel portal)
• ride-share
• dining
• digital entertainment/streaming
• technology purchases/services

how will you use your credits and benefits in the new year?

Travel Credit Card Benefits

In addition to statement credits for select charges, premium travel credit cards also come with a variety of benefits – such as hotel elite status, hotel elite night credits, car rental upgrades, lounge access, and more. It is very important to check if you have activated all of the possible benefits that come with your card into the new year – you certainly do not want to miss out on some of these as they’re very valuable.

For example, if you have a credit card which comes with hotel elite status, be sure to enroll in this feature as even mid-tier hotel elite status can give you room upgrades, free breakfast, late check-out, and more. Each bank’s benefits portal associated with your travel credit card clearly outlines which benefits are available to you and how to use them, by conveniently providing links to partner websites where you can take advantage of the benefits.

Review Your Miles & Points Credit Cards

Many of us have multiple travel credit cards and we all have our own strategy – which cards we keep for spending, which cards we keep for travel benefits, and which cards we might only keep for the occasional use. It is very important to review and decide if you want to keep a card another year – and if it is worth the annual fee. Review all of your accounts and check how many of the benefits and perks you have used in the past year and if paying the annual fee for another year is worth it – based on your past use of the card and predicted future use and upcoming trips.

Map Your 2023 Travels

It is totally okay to not know where you want to go in the next year – some people love planning years ahead while some people love to book spontaneous trips and let life guide them. Whatever your method is, it is good to have a rough idea where you might want to travel next year and how that will shape your elite status earning, mileage redemption opportunities, and of course, where you can use all of your credits and benefits as you travel. In mid 2023 it is beneficial to have yet another “check-up” to see if your year is going how you pictured it and what you want to accomplish in the second half of the year – for example, how close are you to elite status, where else you might want to travel, and what credits you still need to use.

where will the new year take you?

Miles & Points Expiration Dates and Promotions

As the year comes to a close, you need to check when your frequent flyer miles and hotel points might expire – especially if you haven’t had any activity on your accounts in a while. You can easily check the expiration date on each airline or hotel’s website or app – some airlines no longer expire miles while others still continue to. Generally, if you have had some activity in the past year, your miles are safe for the next few months – however, every airline and hotel policy is different, and you don’t want to start the new year with expired miles that you can’t get back.

As the year ends and the new one begins, airlines and hotels will be rolling out new promotions and therefore it is wise to register for those as soon as possible so you don’t have to worry about it in the future – simply visit your airlines and hotels online and check what Promotions/Deals/Offers they currently have and what’s coming up. Registering is usually simple with one-click, so it is best to do it now rather than wait until you have a flight or hotel stay.

All in All

2022 was definitely a much better year than the previous two years when we think about travel. My hope for the year of 2023 is that the world fully goes back to normal (there are still some countries with travel restrictions), so we are able to yet again jet-off around the world without needing to check many requirements. The future is looking bright for the next year and therefore I am super excited to have some fantastic trips coming up – some of which are covered by all of my credits and benefits that I’ve achieved over the past year. Have a look at all of your travel accounts and make sure you are using each benefit and perk to their full potential. Happy New Year!

The post Miles & Points End of Year Checklist appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Award Tickets (airline tickets purchased with frequent flyer miles or points) allow you travel the world using your earned rewards, plus some additional taxes and fees. Award tickets are meant to reward you for your loyalty to a given airline/frequent flyer program, however, with the ability of transferring in miles/points from a bank program, the whole “loyalty” aspect has changed – you don’t have to be loyal to an airline or a program to make the best use of it if you can simply transfer in points and book a ticket.

Award tickets and redeeming your miles for them can be both simple and complicated – if you’re booking a standard domestic flight online, it is simple. If you are planning a round-the-world journey which involves calling the airline and booking over the phone, it becomes complicated, especially if you aren’t familiar with the rules of the frequent flyer program you are using. There are some basic aspects that everyone should know about award tickets – whether you’re booking a simple domestic hop or a complex multi-region itinerary.

fly on award tickets around the world

Award Tickets Flexibility

Award Tickets are more flexible than cash tickets – in that they can be easily canceled for no fee or a low fee (when compared to the cost of canceling a cash ticket). Some airlines have completely gotten rid of cancelation or change fees on award tickets while other airlines still charge them – however, these range from $25 – $150 per passenger per ticket, so it isn’t that huge of a deal if you need to change or cancel. When you cancel and redeposit the miles back to your account, you do also get all of the associated taxes/fees/fuel surcharges refunded to your credit card. If making a change, remember that a difference in miles and taxes may apply.

Some promotional or discounted mileage tickets are not eligible for changes or cancelations – so be sure to clearly check the terms and conditions before redeeming your miles.

Miles + Taxes/Fees/Surcharges

The miles or points required for an award ticket are always determined by the issuing airline and frequent flyer program, not the airline your are flying. For example, if you are using United Airlines miles to fly their partner airline, Lufthansa, the amount of miles are determined by United Airlines – since you are using their miles.

The taxes and fees on your award ticket are determined by a variety of factors including the airline you are flying, where you are departing from, where you are flying to, what class you are flying, etc. The taxes and fees are the same on award tickets as they are on cash/revenue tickets – basically, the “base” fare of the cash ticket is covered by the miles, on an award ticket, but you are still responsible for the taxes/fees.

In addition to the miles and taxes/fees required, some airlines and frequent flyer programs make you pay “fuel surcharges” – these are usually between $100 to over $1,000 in some cases and they depend on the airline you are flying, where you are departing from, and what cabin you are flying in. Fuel surcharges are always charged on cash/revenue tickets, but not always on award tickets. It is up to the airline that is issuing your ticket (the frequent flyer program you are using) if they pass on these fuel surcharges or not. Most programs no longer impose these charges, but some still do – therefore it is very important to check what the total cost is before issuing your ticket and transferring points in to make a booking.

Mixing Airlines on Award Tickets

The rules of your award ticket are determined by the airline issuing your ticket (the airline miles you are using). In addition to rules like how far you can fly (maximum permitted mileage), the regions you can transit, and how much a ticket costs in miles, your frequent flyer program also determines which actual airlines you can fly on your award ticket and if you can “mix” airlines. Most frequent flyer programs allow you to mix (fly multiple) airlines on an award ticket as long as all of those airlines are partners with the airline that is issuing your ticket. For example, let’s say you are redeeming Air Canada Aeroplan points to fly Etihad Airways and United Airlines – you can book both EY and UA on one ticket issued by Air Canada, even though EY and UA are not airline partners.

There are still some frequent flyer programs which do not allow you to mix or fly multiple airlines on award tickets – these are an exception rather than the norm, but they do still exist. Generally, the bigger the airline and frequent flyer program, the more you can “do” on an award ticket. If the airline is smaller and does not have many partnerships, expect there to be limitations. The whole purpose of airline alliances and partnerships are so that you can fly somewhere where “your” airline can’t fly you – so that extends to award tickets as well (in addition to cash tickets, of course).

fly on award tickets around the world

All in All

While there are tons of rules, exceptions, terms, and conditions for award tickets, sometimes it can be very difficult to understand all of them. The truth is that some people don’t know or even need to know every single rule – if you simply visit the airline’s website and book what is available and that works for you, then that’s great; however, if you are planning a bigger redemption, then you will likely need to study the frequent flyer program you are using and what is allowed and how you can use the program, the rules, and award chart to your advantage.

The post Award Tickets: Basic Information to Know appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Credit card benefits and sign-up bonuses immensely help elevate your travels – whether that’s the lounge access benefit or a huge sign-up bonus which you can use to fly international First or Business Class, some credit cards are a must for those who travel. Generally speaking, the higher the annual fee is, the more benefits are attached to the card; sometimes if you use all of the credits and benefits associated with the card, you can actually profit from the card. For example, some credit cards offer over $1,200 in credits each year alone – not factoring in the additional travel benefits such as worldwide lounge access… all for an annual fee of around $700.

credit card benefits and points can help you travel the world

Waived or Reduced Credit Card Annual Fee

When an annual fee posts to your account, you usually have 30 days (depending on the bank) to make a decision about whether or not you want to keep or cancel the card; if you make a decision after 30 days, you can still cancel your card and close your account, but you likely won’t get the fee back. When the fee posts to your account it makes sense to call the bank and ask what your options are if you don’t want to pay the annual fee. Banks love keeping loyal customers and therefore if you’ve had the card for a while and have spent quite a bit of money on it, chances are that your bank may be willing to waive or significantly reduce (post a statement credit) your annual fee for that year.

Bonus Miles/Points for Keeping Credit Card

If your card earns frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or transferable bank points, then instead of an annual fee waiver or reduction, you may instead receive bonus points or miles for keeping the card open – however, you will have to still pay the annual fee. Not only that, but sometimes a spend requirement may be attached to your bonus. For example, say your card’s annual fee is $550 and you call your bank about your options – they mention that they can’t waive or reduce the fee, but they can offer you X number of points after you spend X amount of money in X months. In cases like this, you should consider what they are offering and decide if those bonus points are worth paying the $550 annual fee. Keep in mind, you might have to spend a certain amount to get this bonus.

Card Downgrade / Product Change

Yet another option if you do not wish to pay your annual fee (and the bank doesn’t provide a waiver/reduction or bonus points) is a card downgrade, also known as a product change. Your card must be part of a bigger “family” of cards for this option to work. For example, if your bank offers different credit cards which earn miles with different airlines, you can’t switch from one airline card to another; however, if your credit card earns transferable bank points and there’s multiple types of cards that earn these points, you should be able to switch to a different card within the same family that earns the same type of points – and this other card may have a lower annual fee. Just remember to do this within 30 days after your fee is billed, otherwise it may not be possible for you to get your money back if you decide to change to a card with a lower annual fee.

No Bonus Points or AF Waiver?

No matter how loyal you are or how much you spend on your card, sometimes, you just won’t have any offers available – basically, you can pay the annual fee to keep your card open or you can close your card and not pay the fee. If you have tried calling and asking and still haven’t gotten any annual fee waivers/reductions, bonus points, or have a card downgrade option, make sure you carefully review your card’s benefits and then decide for yourself if the card is worth keeping and paying the annual fee. If it’s a travel card offering a ton of different benefits, then perhaps it may be worth holding on to – just review how many of the card’s benefits you have used during the past year and what credits you have gotten and think about your future travel plans and when you might use the various benefits and credits that come with your card.

credit card benefits and points can help you travel the world

All in All

Travel credit cards are awesome – there’s just so much value they provide for the annual fee; you can even come out ahead if you use up all of the credits and perks offered. Sometimes it is important to review how much of the benefits you have used in the past year and whether or not it makes sense holding onto the card and paying the fee. If you have maximized the benefits and credits, then it is probably worth keeping the card – however, if you have barely used them, then perhaps it might not make sense to have the account open and pay the fee. Each traveler is unique and uses credit cards differently so there isn’t a “one size fits all” strategy so be sure to understand your options and card benefits before making a decision regarding your card.

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