Tag: Using Points

Last Call: Book These Alaska Mileage Awards Before Award Chart Changes in March

February 21, 2024 4

Alaska Airlines will introduce new distance-based partner award charts in March 2024. That's coming soon. Until then, you can take advantage of the current pricing. Here are the Mileage Plan redemptions you'll want to make now — before they become a lot more expensive in the near future.

Tyler Glatt

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

Etihad Still Restricts Premium Awards With Partners, but AA Has More Clarity Now

February 19, 2024 10

Etihad's premium cabin award space is heavily restricted on both Aeroplan and American Airlines partner award bookings. While the awards have vanished on the Aeroplan site, they are heavily restricted on AA with lots of phantom award space. What's going on? Here's what we know at this point, including what looks like a new rule for bookings via AA.

Tyler Glatt & Sam Helmy

The Best Ways To Get to South Africa on Points and Miles

February 12, 2024 32

Few places on earth evoke a sense of adventure and exploration like South Africa. Unfortunately, it's pretty expensive to get there — especially in the pointy end of the plane. But if you play your cards right, you can get there on points and miles. Here's a look at five frequent flyer programs that offer great value for flights to South Africa.

Tyler Glatt

Reviewed by Ryan Smith

You Can Now Redeem IHG One Rewards Points for Experiences

February 12, 2024 0

The IHG One Rewards Access platform is offering up a host of sporting opportunities in 2024 with deals across various sports, including tennis, rugby, and major league soccer. That means you can now use your IHG points for experiences. Should you? Let's take a look.

Sam Helmy

Save Points and Miles Using Unpublished Award Sweet Spots

February 10, 2024 2

From flying business class across the Atlantic for just 35k miles to paying fewer miles for flying further, sometimes awards price out cheaper than they should. Here's a roundup of our favorite unpublished award sweet spots.

Ross Denkin

Reviewed by JT Genter

Delta Adds SkyMiles Redemptions on AirBaltic Flights, With a Catch

February 8, 2024 0

Delta and AirBaltic just took their relatively new partnership to the next level. Travelers can now book AirBaltic awards using Delta SkyMiles. However, there's a limitation to this new redemption option that limits its usefulness. Here's what you need to know about redeeming Delta SkyMiles for AirBaltic.

JT Genter

683 United Award Routes That You Can Book for Just 6,000 Aeroplan Points

February 8, 2024 4

One of the most consistent ways to redeem Aeroplan points for great value is right here in the United States: on United Airlines flights under 500 miles. For these flights, you'll pay just 6,000 Aeroplan points. Here's a list of the 683 routes where we've found this excellent award rate, plus a review of Air Canada's transfer partners and other ways to get Aeroplan points.

Tyler Glatt

Reviewed by JT Genter

When and How To Upgrade Paid Airline Tickets With Points and Miles

January 26, 2024 91

One of the best ways to redeem points and miles is for international business-class award tickets. Your points go the furthest this way, and the numbers prove it. Unfortunately, awards in some of the most premium cabins come at...well, a premium. But you also can access business and first class by paying a cash fare and upgrading with miles. And sometimes, it can make a lot of sense. Here's a look at when it does.

Tyler Glatt

You Can Now Redeem Virgin Points for Eurostar Vouchers, But You Shouldn’t. Here’s Why.

January 23, 2024 0

Virgin Red — the joint loyalty program of all Virgin brands, such as Virgin Atlantic — rolled out a new partnership with Eurostar. And with the partnership comes a new way to redeem your Virgin points. However, just because you can redeem Virgin points for Eurostar train vouchers doesn't mean you should. In fact, you should steer clear. Here's why.

Tyler Glatt

The Best Uses of Emirates Skywards Miles

January 20, 2024 66

Emirates holds a lot of prestige in the aviation industry, primarily for its overly luxurious First Class product. The Skywards program isn't as amazing, but we're here to help you get the most out of Skywards miles and understand where you can save money on select award flights.

Ian Snyder & Tyler Glatt

British Airways Avios Plus Cash: Which Redemption Option Should You Pick?

January 10, 2024 0

The award price you see at first on British Airways' website isn't necessarily the price you'll have to pay. And depending on the number of Avios in your account — or your appetite for fuel surcharges — that could mean more Avios and less cash, or vice versa. Here's all you need to know about which option you should pick from the many Avios plus cash options for your next flight.

Tyler Glatt

How Points and Miles Helped Me Visit Every Country in the World

December 25, 2023 7

I recently completed my goal of visiting every country in the world. I probably would've eventually completed this goal in the future, years from now, at a much slower and more expensive pace. Instead, learning about points and miles greatly accelerated the number of countries I could afford to visit every year.

Ryan Smith

New: You Can Now Book Hilton Free Night Rewards via Hilton's Website Chat

December 22, 2023 2

The Hilton Free Night Reward is arguably the most valuable hotel free night award available. You can redeem this certificate for a free night at almost any Hilton property. The hassle has been having to call Hilton to redeem it. The good news is you can now book Hilton free night rewards right on Hilton's website by using the agent chat function. Here's how to get a real agent and tips on how to make the process as easy as possible.

JT Genter

How To Use Points and Miles for Vacation Home Rentals

December 22, 2023 1

Using points and miles to reserve vacation rental properties is a creative way to avoid the status quo of a hotel on your next family vacation. There are plenty of ways to do it and dozens of ways to earn the points required to cover the entire cost of your stay — or a substantial portion of it. Here's how.

Tyler Glatt

How My Family of 5 Took a $9,000 Vacation to Mexico for $790

December 21, 2023 1

Family vacations are expensive, and luckily points and miles can cover more than just flights and hotel. Save big by booking transportation and excursions in bank portals. Learn how one family five spent less than $800 on a five-night family vacation to Mexico.

Samantha Holland

New: You Can Now Book El Al Award Flights Using Delta SkyMiles. Here Are the New Rates.

December 21, 2023 0

Delta's partnership with El Al took another step forward today. You can now book El Al flights with Delta SkyMiles. Here's all you need to know about this new redemption opportunity, including a snapshot of the pricing and availability we're seeing.

Tyler Glatt

You Can Now Redeem IHG One Rewards Points for Iberostar Resort Stays

December 19, 2023 0

IHG's partnership with Iberostar took another step forward today. Now, IHG One Rewards members can book all-inclusive stays at more than 40 beachfront resorts with points. Here's all you need to know about this new opportunity to redeem points for stays at Iberostar properties.

Tyler Glatt

HSBC Devalues Point Transfers to 1:1.25 From 1:1

December 18, 2023 0

HSBC devalued its point transfer ratio to most partners from 1:1 to 1.25:1 without fanfare or an official announcement. At the same time, the airline launched a 25% transfer bonus to several Avios programs to mask the loss of value. Here's what you need to know.

Sam Helmy

Bilt Rewards Adds Avianca LifeMiles as Its 16th Transfer Partner

December 15, 2023 0

The Bilt Rewards family of transfer partners keeps on growing. Today, Bilt added a new 1:1 airline transfer partner: Avianca LifeMiles. Here's all you need to know about the newest way you can redeem the points you earn by paying rent.

Tyler Glatt

College Sports Experiences: Redeem Choice Points for VIP Treatment

December 14, 2023 0

Choice Privileges recently announced the return of a promotion where you can redeem points for VIP treatment at select college basketball games and hockey matches. If you're a college sports fan, you might find a lot of value in this new promotion. Here's this Spring's 14 participating teams and package options

Tyler Glatt

You Can Now Book ITA Airways Award Flights with Delta SkyMiles — With a Catch

December 14, 2023 1

In a bit of good news, you can now earn and redeem on Delta SkyMiles on ITA Airways flights, but there's a catch. You can only book business class seats, and ITA's entire route map hasn't been rolled out across Delta's website yet. Here's what we know so far about this new SkyMiles redemption opportunity.

Tyler Glatt

British Airways Hikes Avios Awards on American and Alaska — Here's What to Know

December 12, 2023 4

British Airways just devalued partner awards on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines by up to 32%. This devaluation was unannounced, seemingly left for Executive Club members to discover on their next award bookings. Here's what we know about the higher pricing and new award chart.

Tyler Glatt

You Can Now Redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles Online for Aeromexico Flights

December 12, 2023 0

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has made booking flights to Mexico and beyond even easier. Gone are the days when you had to call to book flights on Aeromexico; you can now do so online. Here's all you need to know about this updated functionality, award pricing, and more.

Tyler Glatt

Now Live: Free Point Transfers for IHG Diamond and IHG Business Rewards Members

December 6, 2023 9

IHG announced that IHG Diamond Elite members and IHG Business Rewards members can now transfer points to other IHG accounts free of charge, effective immediately. Other members have to pay a charge of $5 per 1,000 points to transfer points. So, why should you care about this new function?

Sam Helmy