Delta SkyMiles Further Devalues Partner Awards to Europe and Asia by Patrick Stouffer February 12, 2021 37 Delta Air Lines has done it again. For reasons unknown, it's just raised partner award prices to Europe and Asia for the second time in four months. To make matters worse, these aren't small, forgettable price hikes. These are significant, balance-busting increases that make certain partner awards laughably expensive. Let's go over this and see if there's anything salvageable.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Devalues Many Delta Awards by Ross Denkin February 9, 2021 9 Just as the calendar turned over in 2021, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club very quietly changed its redemption scheme for flights operated by Delta. Long-haul and premium cabin travelers will be disappointed to find out their points won’t take them nearly as far anymore. However, there's a silver lining in these changes for domestic and other short-haul flyers.
5 Ways You Know You’re Winning in Travel and Loyalty Programs by Joe Petrovic January 24, 2021 21 Are you worried that you aren't doing the miles and points game right? Let's flip the script and look at five of the ways to know when you're actually coming out ahead in travel and loyalty programs.
How Much Do AwardWallet Members Actually Save When Redeeming Points? by Erik Paquet January 12, 2024 37 How much is a mile really worth? It’s one of the key questions of the points and miles hobby, and we've always been skeptical of the conventional wisdom. So we decided to take a look at real trips booked with points by AwardWallet members. Our initial release is far from perfect, but we're excited to share what we've learned so far. Here's a look behind the scenes at how we're calculating mile values — and what we have planned for the future.
How to Redeem United Miles for Maximum Value by Patrick Stouffer December 6, 2020 41 United miles are incredibly useful. You can use them for award travel on 35+ partner airlines with some of the lowest out-of-pocket costs of any program. In this post, I cover some of the best ways to maximize United Miles for amazing award travel.
Why I’m So Excited About Flexible Point Currencies Right Now by Joe Petrovic November 9, 2020 23 Low cash prices and increased earning opportunities are making flexible points more valuable than ever before. With these points, you have a choice between transferring to airline and hotel partners or redeeming for a fixed, cash value. The conventional wisdom is to transfer points for higher value. Today, I’ll explain why that advice might not be true right now—and how to make the right choice on your next redemption.
Emirates Will Block First Class Awards From Partners Starting in April 2021 by Patrick Stouffer November 6, 2020 16 It appears that Emirates will block partner airlines from accessing first-class awards. A notice on Alaska Air's website states that starting April 1, 2021, Emirates will no longer give partners the ability to book Emirates first class awards. In this post, we cover all the details of this change and how you can book an incredible award before this restriction goes into place.
Mr and Mrs Smith Hotels Now Bookable With IHG Rewards Points by Patrick Stouffer October 31, 2020 18 IHG has (finally) begun to roll out its long-awaited partnership with Mr and Mrs Smith Hotels. Now, IHG Rewards Club members can earn and redeem IHG points at 100 Mr and Mrs Smith hotels, with 300 more expected by the end of November. In this post, we show you some of the incredible new opportunities available with IHG points.
Citi Introduces Shop With Points at Select Shell, BP, and Amoco Gas Stations by Patrick Stouffer March 14, 2024 11 This week, Citi released a new way to redeem your ThankYou® points. Now, ThankYou® point collectors can redeem points right at the pump at Shell, BP, and Amoco gas stations using Citi's 'Shop with Points' feature. But before you take advantage of this, you'll want to make sure you don't have a better use for your points.
Why Now is a Great Time to Book a Dream Trip to French Polynesia by Patrick Stouffer October 15, 2020 18 While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make traveling difficult, one dream destination has already re-opened its borders to all travelers. If you've ever heard of Tahiti, Bora Bora, of French Polynesia, chances are you've dreamed of vacationing there. Thanks to significant safety precautions and generous award availability, now could be the perfect time to make that dream a reality. We will show you how to do so in this post.
The Best Ways to Book United’s New Routes to Africa, India, And Hawaii by Ross Denkin October 27, 2022 14 United has announced 7 exciting new routes for 2021 to Hawaii, Africa and India. Although details are slim on some routes, others are already on sale. So, we at AwardWallet dug into the best ways to book these new routes with miles and points. Here's how to book United business class to Hawaii from 15,000 miles each way, Africa starting at 52,000 miles each way, and India for as little as 52,500 miles each way.
Chase Extends Pay Yourself Back, Expands to Ink and Freedom Cards by Patrick Stouffer September 29, 2020 12 Chase has announced the extension of its popular 'Pay Yourself Back' feature, which was initially set to expire on September 30. Even better, Chase is expanding the feature to certain Ink and Freedom credit cards and offering several new eligible purchase categories. In this post, we cover all the details, including why we think 'Pay Yourself Back' is here to stay.
JetBlue Adds New Cash + Points Redemption Option by Michelle Molloy July 6, 2020 9 Are you a few points shy of being able to book an award ticket? Want to save some money on a cash fare now? JetBlue recently rolled out a flexible new program for TrueBlue loyalty members to use Cash + Points to book flights. We take a look to see if it makes sense to use this option.
9 Ways That I Saved Money on My Road Trip, and You Can Too by Toni Southam July 5, 2020 16 When we think of maximizing points and miles, we generally imagine luxurious vacations in exotic locations around the world. With international travel on hold, using points and miles for these traditional redemptions isn't an option. So, I took my family of 6 on a road trip around Utah to visit national and state parks. Here's how we did it for minimal out-of-pocket costs, and you can too.
The Best Ways to Book Delta’s New Cape Town Route With Miles by Ross Denkin June 21, 2020 16 Staring in October 2020, Delta will begin flying to Cape Town, South Africa! This route was announced in mid-May, but it was just put on sale today. So, we took a look at the cheapest mileage options to fly between the U.S. and South Africa on this newly-modified route — without having to pay 465,000 SkyMiles for business class.
American Airlines Adds Online Award Booking for 20th Partner Airline by JT Genter June 3, 2020 22 Over the past few years, American Airlines has added new partners, strengthened partnerships with existing partners, and made it easier to search and book awards online. On Wednesday afternoon, American Airlines added the ability to book award flights online for yet another partner. You can now search and book awards for 20 different partner airlines on AA's website.
You Can Now Use AAdvantage Miles to Pay for Seat Reservations on American Airlines by Patrick Stouffer May 19, 2020 58 American Airlines just launched a new way for AAdvantage members to redeem miles. As AwardWallet confirmed with American Airlines this afternoon, AAdvantage members can now use their miles to purchase seat reservations. For now, it's limited to select airports, but this is likely to be the start of a larger rollout.
Airline, Hotel Programs Begin Limiting Non-Travel Redemption Options by Patrick Stouffer March 27, 2020 38 Three loyalty programs have now suspended the ability to redeem points for most non-travel-related rewards, blaming circumstances resulting from COVID-19. More airline and hotel loyalty programs may follow suit with similar restrictions in the coming days/weeks as travel companies try to preserve cash.
Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic Launch New Award Partnership by Patrick Stouffer February 26, 2020 26 Air France and KLM recently launched a new partnership with Virgin Atlantic, making both Flying Club and Flying Blue miles even more valuable. You'll now have the ability to book partner awards on either airline using the other's currency. In this article, we're digging into the new partner award options to highlight the best values.
How We Booked Five Nights, Flights, and a Premium Car Rental for Under $300 by Joe Petrovic February 23, 2020 31 Traveling doesn't have to break the bank! Learn exactly how we used points, airline travel vouchers, and credit card perks to save thousands of dollars on a family vacation.
American Airlines Drops Close-In Booking Fees! by Sam Helmy February 15, 2020 39 American Airlines has dropped its $75 close-in booking fee for awards ticketed less than 21 days from the date of travel. At this point, this seems to be a genuinely positive change, without any obvious downside. Still, the lack of fanfare from American's PR team leaves us wondering if the other shoe is still waiting to drop.
Hyatt vs. Marriott: A House Divided by Michelle Molloy February 9, 2020 101 Our family has long been loyal to Marriott, too long as far as I'm concerned. I've decided that it is time for us to move our loyalty over to Hyatt – but this requires my reluctant husband to switch over his business travel. I'm outlining my case for making the move here, are you convinced?
Last Day for up to 45% Off Award Flights to Tahiti by Joe Petrovic January 23, 2020 16 French Polynesia anyone? United is offering economy award tickets to Tahiti (up to 45% off) for as low as 39-49K miles per person round trip.
Alaska Adds Singapore Airlines Redemptions, Cuts Stopovers Within Asia by Ross Denkin November 10, 2019 37 Alaska has added the ability to redeem miles on Singapore Airlines, which is great news for Mileage Plan members. But there is also some bad news that largely overshadows the positive announcement: Stopovers on one-way award travel within Asia are no longer allowed.
Partner Awards in Premium Economy Now Bookable with American Miles by Ross Denkin November 1, 2019 60 American frequent flyers can now use AAdvantage miles to book premium-economy awards with partner airlines. This is excellent news which gives travelers the option to fly in more comfort without the huge cost increase of business or first-class travel. At the moment, the rollout is limited to British Airways flights, but we're optimistic we'll see other partners come online soon.
Hertz Raises Award Prices on Standard Rentals by Erik Paquet May 28, 2019 42 Hertz has made a significant devaluation to their award chart for standard rental awards with no advance notice. The points required have increased for most types of redemptions. Since there was no announcement or press release, we've created a before-and-after chart to illustrate the changes.
