Using Points Archives

Survey Says: Many People Rely on Credit Card Rewards, but Most Are Unhappy With Their Options

November 6, 2023

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A recent survey shows that increasing numbers of people are relying on rewards programs to help them in uncertain economic times. However, they're not very satisfied with their credit card rewards. We have a few ideas on how to address the chief frustrations listed in this survey.

12 Marriott Bonvoy Redemptions For The Budget-Savvy Traveler

by Tyler Glatt

November 4, 2023

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Some of the best points and miles redemptions are the ones that don't break the (points) bank. Thankfully, Marriott has a lengthy list of budget-friendly hotels dotted across the world. Even if you don't have a large balance of Marriott Bonvoy points to work with, there's still a property out there for you that's within reach. Here are 12 examples that average under 16,000 points per night.

Best Western Discounts Award Rates, Up to 50% Fewer Points

by Skye Class

November 1, 2023

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After more than a year, Best Western brought back the promotion giving members up to a 50% discount on award night bookings, available through February 4, 2024. There are three levels of discounts during this promotion, depending on the base points redemption value of the hotel. Here are the details.

What Is the Difference Between a Layover vs Stopover?

by Jenna Hansen

October 31, 2023

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The words "layover" and "stopover" are often used interchangeably. However, they mean different things. Layovers are shorter and always free. Stopovers are longer, and only certain airlines offer them for free. This guide explains the differences and which airlines allow you to add a free stopover to your award bookings.

Book These Oneworld Awards Through Alaska Airlines Instead of American Airlines

by Tyler Glatt

October 29, 2023

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There are lots of ways to book award travel on Oneworld airlines, but not all are equal when it comes to the mileage requirement for specific destinations. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan routinely offers more compelling value than American Airlines AAdvantage when booking awards to these destinations.

12 Hilton Honors Redemptions for the Budget-Savvy Traveler

by Tyler Glatt

October 28, 2023

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Hilton points consistently offer great value for Hilton Honors members, allowing you to book hotels in every corner of the globe. In this post, we walk you through some of Hilton's best low-cost award stays and show you how to get top value from your Hilton points on budget redemptions.

Flying Blue Standardizes Award Rates Between US-Europe. Book Business Class for 50,000 Miles!

by Ryan Smith and JT Genter

October 25, 2023

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Flying Blue — the mileage program for Air France/KLM — has always been a quirky program. Flying Blue previously priced awards by route. Now, Flying Blue seems to have ditched that complicated award pricing scheme. Instead, Flying Blue is now pricing all routes at the same minimum award rate. Now, you can book business class awards between almost any U.S. and Europe airport for as few as 50,000 miles each way!

How To Search for and Book Hyatt and IHG Awards Using Bilt Rewards

by Sam Helmy

October 25, 2023

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Awayz powers a handy tool for Bilt Rewards, allowing you to search for hotel awards at the cheapest prices using a calendar feature. While the tool is really nice, it's main drawback is that it only supports two hotel programs at present. That said, the price is perfect: free.

Flying Blue Adds Two New First Class Partner Awards Options

by Sam Helmy

October 20, 2023

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Air France–KLM Flying Blue has added the ability to book first-class awards with two Sky Team partners. You can now book Garuda and China Eastern first-class awards. Let's take a closer look.

How I Booked a Father-Son Trip of 3 Days, 3 Nights, and 3 Flights for $54

by Joe Petrovic

October 16, 2023

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Good things came in threes on this trip, as I took my son to California. This trip included three days, three hotels, and three flights. Here's how I used points and miles to make this happen for just $54.05 out of pocket.

How To Fly Refreshed ANA Luxury Premium Cabins

by Ross Denkin

October 11, 2023

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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.

Benefits of Booking Award Flights via the Chase Travel℠ Portal

by Jess Farley and Dan Miller

October 9, 2023

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In addition to transferring to over a dozen airline and hotel partner programs, collecting Ultimate Rewards also provides access to the Chase Travel℠ Portal. There, cardmembers can redeem points for a variety of travel, including airfare, hotels, cruises, and car rentals. Each option can offer substantial value under the right circumstances.

How To Use the Chase Travel℠ Portal

by Dan Miller

October 8, 2023

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The Chase Travel Portal makes it easy to find and book travel with your points at a fraction of the normal cost. For those without the time to spend hours searching for award availability and analyzing award charts, this may be the best way to get solid value from your Ultimate Rewards points. Check out our complete guide to booking with the Chase portal.

ExpertFlyer and Seats.aero Issues: The Latest on Award Search Tool Woes

by Ryan Smith

October 7, 2023

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Tools like ExpertFlyer and Seats.aero simplify the award search process by letting you search "home to vacation spot" across multiple frequent flyer programs at once. But recent issues are creating problems for travelers who have enjoyed using these tools to simplify the search process.

PointsYeah Adds Multi-Day Search, More Award Programs, New Filters

by Ross Denkin

December 15, 2023

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PointsYeah already cemented itself as a premier award search tool months ago when it first came onto the scene. Even better, steady and continued additions to the site create more and more value for users. Plus, for those looking to get the most from the site, a paid premium membership option now exists.

Using Amex Upgrade with Points on Flight Bookings

by Ian Snyder

June 2, 2025

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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.

How To Use Points and Miles at Hotels With No Rewards Program

by Ryan Smith and Jess Farley

September 25, 2023

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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.

7 Days Left To Book Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Sweet Spots Before Award Chart Changes

by Tyler Glatt

October 2, 2023

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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.

New Flying Blue Award Sale: Business Class to Europe From 33K Points

by Carissa Rawson

September 19, 2023

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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.

Point.Me Launches ‘QuickLook’ Tool To Preview Award Availability in Seconds

by JT Genter

September 14, 2023

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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.

U.S. Bank Will Match Certain Charity & Nonprofit Donations From Altitude Go Cardholders

by Ryan Smith

September 13, 2023

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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.

Get a Discount if You Book Avianca LifeMiles Awards in Advance

by Tyler Glatt

September 10, 2023

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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.

Best Aeromexico Rewards Sweet Spots

by Sam Helmy

September 10, 2023

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Since its devaluation, Aeromexico Rewards has eliminated most of the outstanding award sweet spots from its program. However, there are still some excellent choices for awards between the U.S. and Mexico and on routes to South America.

How To Use Chase Ultimate Rewards in 2025

by Ashley Onadele

April 29, 2025

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Chase Sapphire Points, known as Ultimate Rewards, can be used in a variety of ways. You can book travel with them through UltimateRewards.com or transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to a number of partners, including Marriott, Hyatt and United. These are the ways to use your points, including which are best.

Virgin Atlantic Adds LATAM Award Bookings. Here’s the New Award Chart.

by JT Genter

August 17, 2023

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Virgin Atlantic just added award redemptions on LATAM-operated flights. That means travelers now have even more options for booking award flights to South America and even more uses for their Virgin points. Here are the details we know so far about this expanded partnership.

22 Different Ways To Redeem Ultimate Rewards

by Miguel Rueda

August 6, 2023

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Chase Ultimate Rewards® are one of the most valuable and most flexible rewards currencies available. They can be redeemed directly through the Chase Travel Portal, easily transferred to one of Chases's many travel partners, used to pay for purchases and experiences, redeemed for statement credits and more. Here are 22 ways you can use them.

1,850 United Award Routes We Found That You Can Book for Just 14,000 Points

by Tyler Glatt

August 5, 2023

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United Airlines has repeatedly devalued its award chart in recent months. So, we are peering into United's partner network in search of value. Enter the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program. As long as there's saver award availability, you can fly any United domestic flight and routes to and from Canada using just 14,000 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. Here are 534 nonstop and 1,316 connecting United itineraries available at that rate.

Aeroplan Introduces Easy-To-Use Online Award Changes

by Sam Helmy

August 2, 2023

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Air Canada Aeroplan now lets you change your awards bookings online. You can change the route, date, and class of travel without the need to cancel and start the booking process from scratch. Here's how it works and something you should consider before changing.

Crazy Good Availability for Starlux Flights Using Alaska Miles

by Ryan Smith

July 26, 2023

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Alaska Airlines and Starlux (the Taiwan-based airline) launched a partnership earlier this year, and mileage redemptions with Alaska Mileage Plan miles are now live. That means you can book Starlux awards. And I'm not just saying, "In theory, you can book awards." You really can book awards...pretty much any day you want. Let's show you how to take advantage of this award availability for a dream trip to Taiwan or onward to other points in Asia.

Wide-Open Etihad Apartments Award Availability!

by JT Genter

July 26, 2023

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The Etihad Airbus A380 finally returned to the skies this month. And that means the return of the beloved Etihad Apartments. If you want to fly the fabled, once-thought-to-be-extinct product for yourself, we have some great news. We are seeing wide-open award availability for up to two passengers per flight. Here's why you should consider splurging for Etihad Apartments, and the best ways to book.

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Tag: Using Points

Survey Says: Many People Rely on Credit Card Rewards, but Most Are Unhappy With Their Options

12 Marriott Bonvoy Redemptions For The Budget-Savvy Traveler

Best Western Discounts Award Rates, Up to 50% Fewer Points

What Is the Difference Between a Layover vs Stopover?

Book These Oneworld Awards Through Alaska Airlines Instead of American Airlines

12 Hilton Honors Redemptions for the Budget-Savvy Traveler

Flying Blue Standardizes Award Rates Between US-Europe. Book Business Class for 50,000 Miles!

How To Search for and Book Hyatt and IHG Awards Using Bilt Rewards

Flying Blue Adds Two New First Class Partner Awards Options

How I Booked a Father-Son Trip of 3 Days, 3 Nights, and 3 Flights for $54

How To Fly Refreshed ANA Luxury Premium Cabins

Benefits of Booking Award Flights via the Chase Travel℠ Portal

How To Use the Chase Travel℠ Portal

ExpertFlyer and Seats.aero Issues: The Latest on Award Search Tool Woes

PointsYeah Adds Multi-Day Search, More Award Programs, New Filters

Using Amex Upgrade with Points on Flight Bookings

How To Use Points and Miles at Hotels With No Rewards Program

7 Days Left To Book Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Sweet Spots Before Award Chart Changes

New Flying Blue Award Sale: Business Class to Europe From 33K Points

Point.Me Launches ‘QuickLook’ Tool To Preview Award Availability in Seconds

U.S. Bank Will Match Certain Charity & Nonprofit Donations From Altitude Go Cardholders

Get a Discount if You Book Avianca LifeMiles Awards in Advance

Best Aeromexico Rewards Sweet Spots

How To Use Chase Ultimate Rewards in 2025

Virgin Atlantic Adds LATAM Award Bookings. Here’s the New Award Chart.

22 Different Ways To Redeem Ultimate Rewards

1,850 United Award Routes We Found That You Can Book for Just 14,000 Points

Aeroplan Introduces Easy-To-Use Online Award Changes

Crazy Good Availability for Starlux Flights Using Alaska Miles

Wide-Open Etihad Apartments Award Availability!