It wasn’t too long ago when most loyalty programs offered free stopovers on award tickets. American AAdvantage, United MileagePlus, and even Delta SkyMiles, all used to offer these. Unfortunately fewer and fewer programs offer stopovers nowadays. Of…
Awards
Often you'll find that the best options for redeeming miles on a particular airline are through the frequent flyer program of a partner airline. Actually, I'd argue that's the case more often than not, and it's where we see many of the best award chart…
How often can one frequent flyer program devalue award costs? In October 2020 Delta SkyMiles devalued partner awards significantly, and now it appears that the program has done so again (thanks to my awesome colleague Jimmy for the heads up on this).…
For now I'll pose this as a question, since the program's lack of transparency makes it hard to figure out what's going on. Etihad Guest doesn't publish an award chart for travel on its own flights, but rather has an award calculator. When you look up…
Marriott Bonvoy has just launched a "Week of Wonders" promotion, which is described as a "week of awe-inspiring experiences and offers." There are indeed a few promotions associated with this, and one in particular that members may find beneficial. To…
TAP Air Portugal is a member of the Star Alliance, and has a frequent flyer program that's often overlooked (including by me). I wanted to take a closer look at award redemptions through TAP's frequent flyer program, Miles&Go. Let me explain why, and…
Historically Qatar Airways' Privilege Club program has actively been a competitive disadvantage for the airline, which makes zero sense to me. The program hasn't been rewarding or competitive in terms of elite perks, mileage redemption amounts, and more.…
Several weeks ago British Airways Executive Club offered 50% off award tickets, and now Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is offering a similar promotion. Virgin Atlantic has launched what's being called its best Black Friday sale ever, and part of that is…
Some fantastic changes have just been announced to the American AAdvantage program. As of November 11, 2020, American AAdvantage is eliminating all change and redeposit fees for mileage awards. In other words, if you need to cancel an award ticket and…
Emirates is known for having one of the world's best first class products, whether you want to shower in first class on the A380, or enjoy the fully enclosed suite on the 777. Well, it appears that there will soon be fewer ways to redeem miles for this…
Here's a trick that can save you a lot of miles, but it also requires a bit of effort. Airline award space is heavily capacity controlled, but there's a trick that can sometimes help you get around that -- specifically, waitlisting awards. It's probably…
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise (unfortunately), but Delta SkyMiles has just greatly devalued partner awards, for no apparent reason… Delta SkyMiles partner award costs increase Delta SkyMiles doesn’t publish an award chart,…
Most travel loyalty programs recognize that this is the time to reward loyal members, rather than devalue program perks. And then there's United MileagePlus... United MileagePlus no longer publishes award charts, meaning there's no transparency when…
If there’s any airline we’ve got a love/hate relationship with around here, it’s British Airways. They release the most award seats in premium cabins between the US and Europe of any carrier, but the fees are outrageous. Want to fly first class from…
A week ago British Airways launched its most lucrative award sale ever, though it goes without saying that this isn't exactly an easy time to travel internationally. Well, if you've been considering this promotion but haven't yet booked a flight, this…
For years major US airlines seemingly barely used their loyalty programs to fill planes. After all, they didn't really have to, with airlines having experienced record profitability and loads. The pandemic has changed that, and we've once again started…
If you have any Southwest Rapid Rewards points, this is a great time to redeem them. Southwest Airlines is offering a 20% discount when you redeem Rapid Rewards points for flights: This is valid for bookings made through Thursday, September 17, 2020…
Air Canada's Aeroplan program has just made it significantly easier to redeem miles on the North American airline I most want to fly... Canadian North is an Inuit-owned airline with the most service to the Canadian Arctic. Canadian North has been a partner…
Iberia Plus has just launched one of the best award sales the program has ever offered. Of course that's only of so much use, given coronavirus and border restrictions. The Iberia Plus program is offering a straightforward 50% off award sale: This is…
British Airways Avios can simultaneously be one of the most valuable and one of the most frustrating points currencies out there. British Airways has a distance based award chart, meaning the currency is valuable in instances where other points wouldn't…
At this point if you want to redeem miles for travel on Singapore Airlines, you'll have to do so directly through the KrisFlyer program. Singapore Airlines has temporarily pulled all award availability through partner frequent flyer programs. This means…
Etihad Airways is offering a significant discount on award tickets at the moment, which could represent a great deal. The Etihad Guest frequent flyer program is offering a 30% discount on award tickets: You must book by August 27, 2020 You must travel…
While we're a long ways from a return to normal in the travel industry, it's nice to see that at least one popular promotion is making a return, after being paused since March 2020. Historically one of the best uses of Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles…
In April American Airlines announced several updates to the AAdvantage program. The airline extended elite status by 12 months, and revealed plans to introduce a new one-time American Airlines Vacations credit for elite members, and also adjust change…
