Beginners Archives - Page 2 of 3

How to Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards Points: A Step-By-Step Guide

April 25, 2025 27

Learn how to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to any of Chase's airline and hotel partner programs with this simple step-by-step tutorial. This complete walkthrough covers every screen you'll see on the Chase website to transfer your Chase points.

Tyler Glatt

Reviewed by JT Genter

How to Manage Your Credit Score to Unlock the Best Travel Rewards

March 8, 2025 58

Keeping track of your credit score is imperative when it comes to maximizing your credit card rewards and benefits. This article will show you how to track and manage your credit score, plus what you should be doing regularly to make yourself look good in the eyes of the banks.

Jenna Hansen & Ashley Onadele

Reviewed by JT Genter

Bad Flight or Subpar Stay? Here’s How To Get Fair Compensation From Airlines and Hotels

December 27, 2024 26

Exploring the beauty of a foreign country, flying to exotic locales in luxury, sampling outlandish foods, and opening yourself up to new experiences are the best parts of travel. However, reality can sometimes fall short of our expectations, and there are valid situations when travelers need reimbursement. If you've wondered how to get fair compensation for a bad hotel stay or a problematic flight, follow these nine steps.

Skye Class & Jess Farley

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

How Far in Advance Can You Book Airline Award Tickets? Our Full Guide With Data Points for 50 Airlines.

December 23, 2024 54

Finding award availability can be a challenge on its own, but knowing how far in advance award space becomes available and which miles can book at what time can make things even more confusing. We address all that here, including strategies to maximize the likelihood of snagging the seat you want. We provide the booking window for all major carriers' loyalty programs as a great reference.

Ian Snyder

Reviewed by JT Genter

How To Book American Airlines Flights Using British Airways Avios

October 30, 2024 145

One of the best uses of British Airways Avios is for award travel on partner airlines. And one of those partner airlines that routinely offers stellar value for your Avios is none other than the world's largest air carrier: American Airlines. Here's all you need to know about booking American Airlines flights with British Airways Avios.

Tyler Glatt & Ian Snyder

Reviewed by JT Genter

The Complete Guide To Earning and Redeeming British Airways Avios

October 27, 2024 9

British Airways Avios is a useful airline currency that you can earn in a variety of different ways — with even more options for redeeming. No matter your travel plans, Avios can likely get you there. Here's everything you need to know about how to earn and redeem them.

Tyler Glatt & Mark Jackson

Reviewed by JT Genter

How To Maximize Fixed-Value Points & Miles in 2024

October 13, 2024 114

Fixed-value points and miles don’t get nearly as much attention as their transferable counterparts, but they form an essential part of any solid points-and-miles strategy. In this post, we cover our favorite types of fixed-value points and how to decide when to use them.

Ian Snyder

Reviewed by Tyler Glatt

How To Credit Airline Miles to Partner Frequent Flyer Programs

October 6, 2024 33

Where to credit your flights when traveling around the world is an integral part of maximizing your opportunities for future award travel. So, how do you credit flying activity to certain programs — and why should you? Let's talk through it.

Mark Jackson

Reviewed by JT Genter

How To Find Airline Partner Award Flight Availability

September 14, 2024 54

Redeeming miles for partner award flights is a great way to increase the value of your frequent flyer miles. Unfortunately, the process is often misunderstood and can be daunting for first-timers. How do you know which airlines you can book, and how do you find the flights? We cover all of this and more in our guide to partner award availability.

Ian Snyder

Reviewed by Tyler Glatt

What’s the Difference Between a Charge Card and a Credit Card?

September 4, 2024 22

Charge cards and credit cards are commonly thought of as the same. They have similar application processes, usually have a hard pull on your credit report, and can be used interchangeably to make purchases. However, there are significant differences between how credit cards and charge cards work. Here's a breakdown of the differences.

Ajay Jain & Scott Sikes

Reviewed by Tyler Glatt

Why Travel Goals Are Essential to Rewards Travel Success

August 17, 2024 15

Card providers release increased signup offers and new cards regularly, and it's tempting to apply for every offer that gets released. But, the reality is, those points and miles may not get you any closer to your destination. Setting a travel goal then working toward it with a strategic plan is the key to success. Here's why.

Jenna Hansen & Jess Farley

Reviewed by Tyler Glatt

Back to Basics: An Introduction to the Types of Reward Points

July 28, 2024 22

Points and miles can help you travel for a fraction of what you'd normally pay. But there are several different types of reward points, and these can be difficult to understand if you've just started collecting them. Here's an introduction to the different types of reward points and how each can play a role in your award wallet.

Ian Snyder

Reviewed by Tyler Glatt

Beginners Guide to How to Book Flights With Miles

July 24, 2024 23

Have you ever felt like you can’t use miles for any of the trips you want to take? Booking award travel is one of the biggest challenges for points and miles beginners. In this post, we’ll explain how award availability works and why it’s one of the most important concepts to master so you can use your miles to get where you want to go.

Dan Miller & Ajay Jain

Reviewed by JT Genter

Beginners Guide: What is a Stopover & What is an Open-Jaw?

July 7, 2024 72

Stopovers and open-jaw flights enhance the value of any frequent flyer program by allowing you to add destinations to your travel, in many cases, with no additional miles required! Here's our beginner's guide to how to book one for your next trip.

Dan Miller

Reviewed by Tyler Glatt

Beginners Guide To Using Dining Programs for Easy Points and Miles

June 20, 2024 62

Dining programs are a great way to earn extra points and miles whenever you eat out. Unlike many of the most lucrative ways to earn points, dining rewards programs require almost no effort. You can pick a program, register your rewards card you'll use to pay at restaurants, and watch the points pile up. Here's how they work.

Joe Petrovic & Ian Snyder

Reviewed by Tyler Glatt

How Many Miles Do You Need for a Free Flight?

June 8, 2024 38

If you've managed to earn a good stash of airline miles, the next step is understanding how many miles you need to book your next trip. Don't let the airlines trick you into paying more than you should! Here's what you need to understand, and some tips to follow, so you can save miles on your next award redemption.

Ian Snyder

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

How Far in Advance Can You Book Hotel Reservations?

May 29, 2024 58

How far out you can book a hotel? And does making reservations at the far side of the booking window provides any tangible benefit? Each hotel chain handles reservations differently, with the booking windows of major hotel chains ranging from 11 months through to a massive two years. On some points bookings, however, the window can drop to as little as 100 days. Here are the various policies.

Kennedy Miller & Tyler Glatt

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

How To Achieve Your Travel Goals Using Points and Miles in 2024

May 9, 2024 7

When it comes to travel, the biggest hurdle for most people is the cost. This is where points and miles can make a dream a reality. If you resolved to travel more in 2024 but are unsure how to make it happen, points and miles are the perfect vehicle to help you get there. Here's why we say that, including some step-by-step instructions on getting you to your next destination.

Patrick Stouffer

Reviewed by JT Genter

How To Track Credit Cards and Rewards

October 5, 2023 1

In order to have a successful points and miles earning strategy, keeping track of your rewards and cards is essential and keeps you organized. Learn about how to track credit cards and rewards with apps, spreadsheets, and simple yet effective strategies.

Ajay Jain

Survey Says: Most Travelers Don't Utilize This Key Tool For Maximizing Your Points

August 26, 2023 1

We are big — BIG — fans of finding new ways to use our credit card rewards and redeem them for maximum value. It's kind of why we're here. But not everyone is us. In fact, a recent survey found that nearly three-fourths of travelers don't know about and don't use the most valuable tool for maximizing the value of their points. Let's change that.

Ryan Smith

Elevating Your Car Rental Experience With Silvercar Premium Rewards

May 31, 2020 7

Sick of the typical rental car experience? I have found that Silvercar offers an elevated rental experience, and its Premium Rewards program is simple to use and can save you money. Plus you can now track your points right in AwardWallet! Here's what you need to know about Silvercar.

Joe Petrovic

The Critical Points: If You Don't Stack, You're Wasting Money

May 11, 2019 74

In the return of his weekly "The Critical Points" column, Richard Kerr demonstrates how you should stack different savings opportunities to avoid paying full price for any monthly purchase.

Richard Kerr

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