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Ross Denkin

Points and Miles Number Cruncher

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Ross Denkin joined the AwardWallet team in 2019 and is a relative newcomer to the points and miles world. Introduced to award travel by his older brother in 2014, Ross dove headfirst into earning and burning points and miles currencies for his travels, both domestic and international. A frequent OneWorld traveler, especially within the U.S., Ross built his own tool to optimize mile redemptions using all OneWorld frequent flyer programs for travel on American Airlines.

 

Accompanying Ross on his points and miles journeys is his wife Elizabeth, an enthusiastic award traveler herself. Together, they have redeemed over 1 million points and miles for travel to Ireland, Indonesia, Portugal, and the Maldives, as well as countless trips within North America. When not globetrotting, Ross is most likely found playing or watching sports, enjoying the outdoors, and searching premium cabin award inventory.

The Catch Portal Offers Rewards on Debit Card Purchases. Should You Use It?

Making purchases through various shopping portals gives buyers the opportunity to earn cash back, transferable points, or miles of their choice as they spend. Catch offers yet another way for consumers to be rewarded for their purchases. Users effectively earn a minimum of 5% store credit each time they buy through Catch, providing an option for earning rewards when paying with a debit card. However, there are big drawbacks to choosing Catch over other portals.

Book Award Flights to Europe From 15k Points via Flying Blue Promo Rewards in December 2023

Flying Blue released its latest Promo Rewards for December 2023. At total of seven North American cities are included out of a total of 23 discounted routes. Fly between the U.S. and Europe for as few as 15,000 Flying Blue miles one-way in economy or 37,500 Flying Blue miles in business class, thanks to this month's promotions. Plus, you can transfer virtually any available flexible points to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio to book these awards.

Fly to Europe in Business Class for 55k Miles Round-Trip Using Miles & More Mileage Bargains

Miles & More Mileage Bargains is a monthly award discount promotion (similar to Flying Blue Promo Rewards and Singapore Airlines Spontaneous Escapes). Travelers can book award flights between the U.S. and Europe for 30k miles round-trip in economy, 45k round-trip in premium economy, or just 55k miles in business class. Here's how to take advantage of one of the 636 discounted awards available to/from the U.S. in December 2023.

The Cheapest Ways To Fly to Europe With Award Miles

Europe offers a wide range of activities, attracting travelers far and wide. For those looking to minimize out-of-pocket flight costs, points and miles remain an ever-present staple. Great options exists for all cabins of travel, but flying economy class between North America and Europe typically costs the fewest amount of points, letting travelers maximize the number of trips taken. Here are the cheapest ways to fly to Europe in economy with points and miles.

Sweet Spots with United Airlines MileagePlus Awards

Check out the sweet spots of the United Airlines MileagePlus program. Whether domestic or international, United miles help travelers see more places using fewer miles. With economy, business class, and first-class sweet spots, United miles have a use however you like to fly. Additionally, United miles are easy to come by and can be accumulated quickly. Here's a rundown of your options.

Miles & More Program Updates Coming in 2024

Lufthansa Miles & More recently announced status program changes effective January 1, 2024. Just like its U.S. counterparts, Lufthansa claims to simplify the existing program for members as a result of these changes. However, unlike in the U.S., Lufthansa's new earning structure does not depend entirely on spending. Instead, only class of cabin and continental versus intercontinental route flown matter for earning status points. Here's how it works.

How To Fly Refreshed ANA Luxury Premium Cabins

In late 2019, ANA made a splash with its refreshed luxury business- and first-class cabins. While available on a very small selection of flights, these premium cabin options -- dubbed “The Room” and “The Suite” -- immediately rivaled the best hard products in the sky. Find out which routes offer these seats, and, more importantly, how to book them.

21 Airlines You Can Book Using American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

You can redeem American miles to fly to most major destinations worldwide, including many you couldn't reach on flights operated by American Airlines. From Oneworld airlines like British Airways and Japan Airlines to non-alliance partner airlines like Etihad Airways and Fiji Airways, this article discusses all of the AAdvantage partner airlines you can utilize when redeeming American Airlines miles.

How To Pay Taxes With a Credit Card (And When You Should)

Paying the IRS is never fun. But, if you must, it presents a fantastic opportunity to earn points and miles by paying taxes with a credit card. Most Americans only deal with paying taxes once per year, on April 15. However, some self-employed and contract workers must make estimated quarterly tax payments throughout the year. And next payment is coming up on September 15, 2023. The good news: The processing fee to pay your taxes dropped for 2023!

Delta SkyMiles Now Worth More Toward Vacations

Delta now offers an improved way to redeem SkyMiles for vacation packages. Members earn more when booking vacation packages, and can do so through an updated booking experience. SkyMiles can be put to better use in most instances, but the improved earning rates may be attractive to those seeking Delta Medallion status.

How To Earn Hilton Honors Points

Hilton makes earning points incredibly easy. Sign up for co-branded credit cards and stack hotel stays, promotions, and credit card spend to earn Hilton Honors points hand over fist. Or, take advantage of Hilton's many partnerships outside of hotel stays to earn bonus points. We examine all of the ways to earn Hilton Honors points in this post.

A Premium Award Search Tool at the Perfect Price: A PointsYeah Review

PointsYeah enters the award flight search tool space with a bang! Not only do search results populate quicker than other sites, but the results can be filtered and sorted in many ways. Plus, Points Price Alerts let users track flights of interest and get notified when preferred points pricing becomes available. Here's where PointsYeah shines plus areas for improvement.

Promising But Lacking Polish: A Roame.Travel Review

Tired of searching flight award inventory for hours on end, only to be disappointed by results? Let a new tool do all of the heavy lifting for you! Roame.Travel searches a dozen award programs for flight award space on the route of your choosing, all at the click of a button.

Earn Bonus Points and Miles Referring Friends to AwardWallet

AwardWallet helps users with numerous facets of award travel. The site tracks points and miles balances for an unlimited number of programs, creates alerts when balances are set to expire, and much more - all for free. Even better, one of the site's lesser-known features is its referral program, which allows users to earn points that can be transferred to Hyatt, Delta, Hilton, JetBlue, IHG, Southwest, or Marriott.

The 47 Airlines You Can Book Using Aeroplan Points

After a huge program overhaul and the launch of a co-branded credit card in the U.S., Aeroplan has emerged as one of the most flexible and useful frequent flyer programs for turning miles into travel. In this post, we’ll take a look at the 47 different partner airlines you can book using Aeroplan points.

Playing the American Airlines Loyalty Points Game

Playing the AA Loyalty Points game makes it possible to earn top tier American Airlines status without stepping foot on a plane. Using the right strategies, like taking advantage of super stack opportunities, allows game players earn elevated amounts of Loyalty Points on purchases they would otherwise make, potentially while scoring discounts, too.

How to Earn and Use a Delta Companion Certificate

Not all companion certificates are created equal. Some require considerable credit card spending to earn, and others only reduce the ticket cost to $99, rather than $0. Thankfully, Delta's companion certificates involve neither of those stipulations, making them much easier for travelers to use and enjoy. Plus, Delta makes using these certificates incredibly easy, giving travelers endless redemption possibilities.

How to Find the Cheapest Air France-KLM Flying Blue Awards Using the Award Calendar

Flying Blue (the award program for Air France, KLM, and more) can be one of the cheapest ways to fly to Europe, especially when you take advantage of monthly Promo Rewards and/or frequent transfer bonuses. By knowing one trick, you can easily seek out the lowest award prices available by using the Flying Blue open dates award calendar. Here's how to utilize this lesser-known tool.

8 Sweet Spots Using American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

American Airlines offers travelers a number of great opportunities, both domestic and international, to redeem their hard-earned miles. Dynamic pricing presents domestic sweet spot opportunities, while American's region-based global award chart offers endless international sweet spots. Here's a roundup of our favorite AAdvantage sweet spots currently available.

Aeroplan’s Amazing Singapore Airlines Award Availability

Historically, Singapore Airlines has been stingy about releasing premium cabin award space to partner airlines. But we've found that Aeroplan enjoys access to far more award seats than any other partner, including flights to and from the United States. Aeroplan charges fewer miles for many of these awards, and thanks to its unique program features, creates limitless award opportunities across the globe featuring one of the finest airline experiences around.

All the Ways to Save When Doing Your Taxes

It's tax time! The process of preparing tax returns isn't fun for anyone, and it can be made even worse if you have a surprise tax payment. Even if you don't end up owing the IRS, you still may have to pay to get your taxes done. So, finding some savings along the way can ease the burden of filing taxes. In this article, we show you how to save this tax season.

Sweet Spots of the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Program

Cathay Pacific's award program Asia Miles is a program some travelers may initially overlook when considering award flights. However, there are a number of reasons why Asia Miles needs to get more attention. A number of sweet spots exist within the program, along with a few favorable program quirks, make it an excellent option for propsective award travelers.

Game-Changing Award Availability Tool: A Point.me Review

Point.me makes a monumental step forward in flight award search efficiency. Search dozens of airlines and award programs all at once rather than one at a time. Plus, step-by-step booking guidance helps turn search results into booked flights with seamless precision. There might be a few kinks to iron out still, but the tool's benefits stand out nonetheless.

Flight Cancellation Period Passed? Trying Changing Your Flight to Save Your Award

Travel plans can change at the drop of a hat, especially in this day and age. If changes are required too close to scheduled travel, airline policies may seem to leave award travelers with no option but to forfeit the points or miles used for booking. However, that may not actually be the case. Here's my strategy for saving award when you have to cancel at the last minute.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue Lowers Mileage Requirements for Transatlantic Economy Awards

Air France/KLM Flying Blue recently adjusted its award rates between North America and Europe. But surprisingly this is actually good news. Standard transatlantic economy class award rates now begin at just 15,000 miles. These new, lower redemption rates vary by city. Here's a chart of the cheapest award prices we are finding on Flying Blue's 39 transatlantic nonstop routes.

How I Used Points and Miles to Save on My Move Across the Country

Points and miles often help make incredibly lavish or exotic leisure travel possible. However, sometimes the most memorable points and miles redemptions come in the form of domestic travel - and not for vacations. For instance, points and miles helped drastically reduce the cost of travel ahead of a recent cross-country move. Here are my takeaways and some lessons for your travels.