Educational Posts on Loyalty Programs

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Good News for AA Elite Members Who Fly Premium Economy and Extra Perks Coming to Qatar Airways Coach

No matter where your travel takes you, airlines are always looking at ways to improve the flying experience. Both American and oneworld partner Qatar Airways have some updates in store. Credit card companies like American Express are focused on perks like a new lounge in Philadelphia. Read all about the latest news in this week’s update.

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Book a “Daycation” with HotelsByDay

hotelsbyday

Imagine enjoying a layover in a luxurious hotel room rather than a crowded airport terminal. You can book a “daycation” in many North American hotels right now using a service called HotelsByDay.

Founder and CEO Yannis Moati spoke with RewardExpert about how travelers can find relaxation despite having busy schedules.

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Booking Award Tickets with Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines is a favorite airline among travel enthusiasts for a variety of reasons. They have a well-regarded product with much more competent and friendly customer service than most legacy airlines.  Although Alaska is not part of any of the three major airline alliances, they do have a diverse network of partners, resulting in a unique award program. And they are merging with Virgin America this year which will broaden the possibilities.

The combination of a good airline with good partners results in an array of award charts that offer great value on everything from short-haul domestic economy tickets all the way to international premium cabin awards.

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Rome2rio: Have the Freedom to Not Plan Ahead

Unlike the routine rush to work, vacation travelers often want to explore scenic routes as they travel the world. However, it’s difficult to evaluate online maps to choose the best routes based on comfort and cost.

Whether you travel by plane, train, car, ferry or even bicycle, Rome2rio is an app that maps your trip for you.

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7 Miles and Points Tips For the Sundance Film Festival

You’ve got your expensive boots and après-ski attire; the fur or leather-lined jacket is ready to go. It’s time for the world-famous Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. This year’s festivities take place January 19-29, and it’s time to plan out your mileage-earning and burning strategy for the big event.

If you’re headed to magical snow country, these seven tips could make a great festival guide.

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New Travel Credit Cards Introduced in 2016

Chase introduced some exciting new Ultimate Rewards credit cards last year, including the buzzworthy Sapphire Reserve, a new Ink business card and a second no-fee Freedom card. A few airlines got in the act last year, too. There’s a new and improved offering from Asiana Airlines, as well as a completely new lineup from Central America’s Avianca and an excellent opportunity for small business owners from Hawaiian Airlines.

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American Airlines Inflight Dining Program

american airlines dining

American may not have been on the cusp of the inflight dining scene, but with its merger with US Airways, many changes were made for the better. American, unlike US Airways, operates both a business and first class cabin.

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Transit: An Easier Way to Navigate Public Transportation

transit

Smartphones have become essential to navigate unfamiliar places. Thanks to global positioning systems (GPS), getting to a destination without getting lost is easy.

But you don’t just need to see where you’re going, you need to see how to get there. In cities with multiple modes of travel, travelers complain that it’s hard to find a navigation app that includes all the options.

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Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve Still Worth It With a Lower Sign-Up Bonus?

Chase Sapphire card

Last August, Chase made a big splash by introducing the Chase Sapphire Reserve, a brand new card with top-of-the-line benefits as well as an attractive 100,000-point signup bonus. As you may have heard, that signup bonus was recently lowered from 100,000 Ultimate Reward points to 50,000 as of March 12.

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Maximize Your SPG Points With Transfers to American and JAL

Starwood Preferred Guest is an excellent reward program because of its incredible flexibility. It has more airline transfer partners than any other program, including American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou. On top of that, some of those airlines partner only with SPG. In this post, we’ll look at why you should consider transferring your valuable Starpoints to two of those exclusive airline partners: American Airlines and Japan Airlines (JAL).

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With Smart Yet Simple Design, Away Is The Luggage For Everyone Who Travels

away

You scored a great deal on your flight when you redeemed your miles. Your boss agreed to your time off request—even though it’s the busy season—and you found a reputable pet sitter to check in on Snowball while you’re gone. It may seem as though the most challenging prior-to-vacation tasks are behind you, but they aren’t. You still have to pack, and that means dealing with your luggage—something many people dread rather than enjoy.

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American Takes Better Care of Biggest Spenders and Bonus Mile Promotions Aplenty

The new year is upon us and so are a variety of new frequent flyer and loyalty program changes. Here’s what you need to know to get the traveling year started off right especially if you’re one of American’s coveted Concierge Key members.

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More Details Emerge From the Alaska and Virgin America Merger

Alaska Airlines recently received permission from the Department of Justice to purchase Virgin America, meaning the takeover is officially happening. Now that Alaska is sure the deal will go through, they have announced more details on how the two airlines will operate going forward, what changes will be made to elite benefits, and how the mileage accrual and award tickets will work.

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Meet EVA Air’s New Robot And Earn Bonus Miles With Several New Promotions

Act fast to redeem Virgin Atlantic miles before the upcoming devaluation, and Citi ThankYou points transfers to Virgin Atlantic might get you to that award even faster thanks to a new bonus offer.

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Why You Should Transfer SPG Points to Alaska Airlines

Transfer SPG points

Starwood Preferred Guest is a hotel loyalty program, but it’s different from other hotel programs. It allows members to transfer Starpoints to most of its 36 partner airlines at a 1:1 ratio. Plus, you’ll get a 5,000-mile bonus for every 20,000 Starpoints you transfer to a frequent flyer program.

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How to Book Amtrak Guest Rewards

amtrak

Amtrak Guest Rewards is a solid frequent traveler program offering members decent redemption rates, particularly for last-minute bookings and peak travel. Program members can earn points through train travel or with one of Amtrak’s co-branded credit cards. Amtrak also has a few hotel transfer partners, including Hilton HHonors and Starwood Preferred Guest.

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Get the Most Out of Your SPG Points

You’re probably already familiar with the three big credit card award programs: American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou. They’re great because you can transfer the points you earn directly to frequent flyer programs. But there’s another very flexible program you should know about that also offers transfers to airlines partners: Starwood Preferred Guest.

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Transferring Miles Between Accounts to Increase Your Balance

One way to quickly build up a stash of frequent flyer miles is to take advantage of limited-time offers the airlines promote. Oftentimes, airlines like Avianca and banks like American Express will offer a bonus scheme when you transfer miles between accounts. That means you may earn a bonus when you transfer your miles to your husband’s account, or to a friend or child. Sometimes the deals aren’t worth it but when they are, you can leverage the promotion to earn plenty of free travel for yourself and potentially others. Let’s look at this method of earning loyalty currency.

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Traxo: Travel Itineraries on an Integrated Dashboard

World travelers are burdened with organizing a lot of details. But logging into numerous websites, keeping track of reservation emails, and juggling a dizzying number of apps doesn’t have to be part of your itinerary.

Traxo is an online travel service that tracks and organizes personal travel information, such as itineraries, loyalty account balances and receipts, and then displays it all on a convenient dashboard, either in the app or on the web. More than 200 travel sites are supported.

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Inspire the Next Generation of Conservationists by Donating Southwest Points to SCA

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) strives to inspire youth to engage with nature and to become lifelong stewards of the environment through hands-on service opportunities. Student volunteers learn important life skills while doing crucial work to help preserve national parks and other public lands. You can donate Southwest Rapid Reward points to this valuable organization.

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