Tag: Using Points

One little-known feature of American Express Membership Rewards is its Upgrade with Points option. Rather than deal with airline miles, you can book a ticket and make an upgrade offer directly through Amex. Although this might sound great, the value you get isn't as good as many other uses of Amex points. Here's how the feature works if you want to use it before it ends on December 3, 2023.

The Air Canada Aeroplan HotelSavers program lets you use your points to book hotels stays with up to a 30% discount at 39 hotels brands worldwide. Furthermore, if you hold a Aeroplan co-branded credit card, you can receive a fourth night free on your award bookings through December 31, 2024. But is it worth it? Let's run through some examples to find out.

In theory, redeeming hotel points for an upcoming stay is straightforward. But what if there aren't any hotels at your destination that participate in rewards programs — can you still pay with points? Let us teach you how to pay for lodging with points when you "can't pay with points" at that hotel.

Cathay Pacific announced changes to its award chart earlier this year, effectively devaluing the Asia Miles program. Thankfully, they provided a heads-up. With October 1, 2023 looming, it's as good a time as any to dig into Cathay's sweet spots and see which Asia Miles awards you should book before the changes take effect. If you're interested in booking any of these, you've got a week to make it happen.

This new award sale from Flying Blue allows members to fly to Europe for as little as 33,000 points each way in business class. With options to either Paris or Amsterdam and a wide variety of dates available, this promotion will be an excellent deal for many. Combine with a point transfer promo to save on costs.

A handy trick lets Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members to search for awards using the calendar search, despite Virgin removing this option from its website a while back. Here's how to unlock month-by-month award searching on Virgin's website.

Starting today, Point.Me users will start seeing the option to "QuickLook" at award availability on select routes. Instead of waiting to search for live award pricing, this new feature shows data from recent searches performed on the same route and dates. And you'll see those results in a matter of seconds rather than waiting for minutes. Here's how it works.

Good news for those with the U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card: U.S. Bank says it will match donations to eligible charities and nonprofit organizations. This is a new benefit for cardholders starting September 13, 2023.

Companion pass, companion certificate, companion fare, or companion ticket. Whatever you call them, they offer travelers a way to bring a companion along for less. Some airlines have designed their companion pass as a well-thought-out feature of their rewards program. Others have turned it into a lazy benefit slipped into the back end of a credit card's benefits. Here are the airlines and credit cards that offer companion fares.

Avianca now offers an early mileage discount on Avianca-operated award flights. Flights booked more than 30 days in advance qualify for this discount, which is a helpful way to conserve LifeMiles. This once-temporary promotion is now permanent. Here's all you need to know.