Educational Posts on Loyalty Programs

If you’re a parent, you know that teaching your kids about finances isn’t always easy. You may give your children a weekly allowance or reward them for doing something great. But do you really know what they’re spending or think they truly understand the value of a dollar?

According to a recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), which runs the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 22 percent of 15-year-olds lack basic financial literacy.

It’s gotten harder for elites to get upgraded to first, and non-status fliers never had a chance. Don’t despair, though, you don’t have to pay hard-earned cash for the privilege of flying in style. There are still strategies to get up front, whether you rely on a free upgrade or pay your way with miles.

Travel—whether you explore a new destination every few years or regularly hit the road on exciting adventures—can be transformative. For travel expert Wendy Perrin, founder of WendyPerrin.com, more than a few vacation experiences have been life changing. From her journey to the Galapagos Islands, to a pre-war trek through Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, the revelations have been numerous and often shared with her husband and two sons.

Knowing where and how to search for award space is one of the most complicated and important aspects of using your frequent flyer miles effectively. Unfortunately, the airlines do not always make this an easy task.

Some airlines only show awards for some partners and other airlines won’t show you all of the valid connections you can make. This article is going to look at where are the best places to search for award space for oneworld alliance members. There are currently 14 full members of the as well as a handful of member affiliates.

According to Pew Research Center, 77 percent of Americans now own a smartphone. Data from Flurry, an analytics company, reveals the members of this group spend an average of five hours a day on their mobile devices browsing the Internet and utilizing a variety of apps.

Summer is a popular time for families to vacation together, and according to AAA, more than a third of Americans expect to take a journey that is at least 50 miles away from home. With 79 percent planning a road trip, 51 percent preparing to visit a national park, and 33 percent anticipating a visit to an international destination, the opportunity for educational experiences abound.

More people are choosing to become digital nomads where they can work anywhere in the world. Many jobs no longer require an office because the work can be done online. Remote or freelance workers can earn money with an electronic device and a reliable Internet connection.

Alaska Airlines miles are some of the most valuable airline miles out there. The Mileage Plan award program has some very unique and useful features but also some restrictions that can make their miles more difficult to use than other programs.

Here’s why I love Alaska Airlines miles even though they can be tough to use (and some considerations to make them less tough to use).

Healthcare in the U.S. is notoriously expensive. According to the number crunchers at the Department of Health and Human Services, national health expenditures were expected to hit $3.35 trillion last year—or an average or $10,345 for each man, woman and child in America. Hospitals collected 32 percent of this spending while doctors and other clinicians snagged 20 percent for their services. Prescription drugs purchased through pharmacies accounted for another 10 percent.

Did you ever wonder why your boarding pass has ads on it? And did you ever get the sneaking suspicion that those ads were targeted? If so, you’re right. Sojern is the company that started doing it back in 2007. These days the company uses insights from more than 350 million unique traveler profiles — along with billions of travel purchase signals — to help marketers target the right travelers, at the right time, with the right messages.

Google Flights is one of the most powerful tools for finding the best airline deals and routing. It can save you a ton of time relative to searching around on the websites of individual airlines, and it works well for both domestic and foreign airlines. It even has features built in to help you find great airfares even if you don’t know exactly where you want to go. More on that below. But first, what it it is how it works.

If you’ve ever been in an airport with time to spare, odds are that you stopped for some quick grub at a kiosk or sat down with your travel companions for nice meal. After all, eating is a big part of the airport experience, especially if you have a connection and there’s not much else to do. But few travelers are aware of the story behind the restaurants they find at the airport.

Do you have a habit of repeatedly visiting the same vacation locations? Are your family adventures beginning to feel a little less than adventurous? Would you like to break out of your travel rut and explore more of the world—maybe even a less accessible destination? If so, it may be time for you to consider working with the professional travel planners at GeoEx.

Alice Howell, GeoEx’s director of user experience and collaboration, recently spoke to RewardExpert about the inspiration behind the high-end adventure travel company, its current offerings, and her top five destination suggestions for this year’s summer vacation.

The only U.S. credit card rewards program that allows you to transfer points to the United MileagePlus program is Chase Ultimate Rewards. But what if you don’t have Ultimate Rewards points? Does it mean you can’t use points from other rewards program to book an award flight on United?

Have you been thinking about exploring new career options? If so, you’re not alone. According to one survey of U.S. workers, 22 percent are planning to change jobs in 2017. The number is even higher among younger employees—with 35 percent of survey respondents between the ages of 18 to 34 anticipating a change of employer.

Is it worth booking an award flight as soon as it becomes available? You might get the cheapest redemption or a hard-to-find first class seat on a popular flight, but your reservation will be about a year out. A lot can change in that time. Knowing how much you’ll have to pay to change or cancel that flight can determine if it’s worth taking the chance.

Airplanes can take you anywhere there’s a runway, but there are enormous and complicated systems behind the scenes that make it possible for millions of flights a year to go smoothly.

At a time when 50 percent of Facebook users have more than 200 virtual friends, and the average Twitter user has nearly 350 followers, Pew Research Center data reveals 29 percent of Americans only know a few of their actual neighbors. Even more worrisome, 28 percent don’t know any of them at all. And because it’s hard to have confidence in strangers, it’s no wonder nearly half say they don’t trust the other people who live in their neighborhood.

With the launch of the new World of Hyatt Program, Hyatt is really upping their game when it comes to their new top-tier status, which will now be called Globalist Status. Previously, this was referred to as Hyatt Diamond status in the former Hyatt Gold Passport Program. With new benefits added, we’re going to see how Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum status compares.

When it comes to receiving one-on-one instruction, look no further than Wyzant, the nation’s largest online marketplace for tutoring.