Educational Posts on Loyalty Programs

RewardExpert.com is an independent website that is supported by advertising. RewardExpert.com may be compensated by credit card issuers whose offers appear on the site. Because we are paid by our advertising partners it may impact placement of products on the site, including the order in which they appear. Not all available credit card issuers or card offers are included on the site.

How to Pay Student Loans or Contribute to 529 Plans and Earn Miles and Points

There is a fantastic new way to give the gift of education to any friend or family member. And, it’s even a method to help you pay down your student loan while earning miles and points. Gift of College is a college savings registry of sorts.

You can purchase gift cards from the company that the recipient (or you) can use to pay off a student loan, or establish or contribute to his or her existing 529 plan. For miles and points enthusiasts, it finally paves the way to earn valuable loyalty currency just for paying off your loan or helping someone else afford college. Let’s look at how the program works.

Read more

Secrets to Earning Oneworld Alliance Tier Status

Here’s the scoop on how to earn status on an alliance and not just an airline. The oneworld alliance may be smaller the other two major ones, but its 14 members (plus 21 affiliated members) can literally take you anywhere in the populated world.

If you regularly fly on Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Iberia, Finnair, Japan Airlines, LATAM Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, or SriLankan Airlines, it’s a safe bet that you might benefit from oneworld tier status.

Read more

New Year’s Resolutions for Travel Hackers

You may not be a New Year’s resolution type of person, but you’ll actually do yourself a disservice if you don’t make a few promises related to your travel hacking hobby. Earning miles and points that will help whisk you and your family around the globe in style isn’t easy, and it takes planning and organization.

Before you sing “Auld Lang Syne” at the dawn of the New Year, make a few resolutions that may help you get where you want to go in the next 12 months. Here are some resolutions shared by us at RewardExpert. You may want to commit to them as well.

Read more

How to Reach SkyTeam Elite Status Using Credit Cards

skyteam elite status

Did you know you can get elite status on an alliance? Well you can. Here’s how to achieve it on SkyTeam. There are 20 member airlines that make up SkyTeam Alliance: Aeroflot, Aerolíneas Argentinas, AeroMéxico, AirEuropa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, and XIAMENAIR.

Read more

DUFL Can Help You Overcome The Stress of Packing for Your Next Trip

dufl app

In the two years since its inception, DUFL has changed the way savvy professionals travel for business. Voted Best New Travel App of 2015 by USA Today, this unique company eliminates the need to pack for a trip, check or stow luggage, even do laundry and visit the dry cleaner. They do it all for you.

Thousands of executives, salespeople, athletes, celebrities and others who use DUFL’s services enjoy a stress-free journey while the company’s staff carefully packs and ships their clothing, toiletries and personal items to their destination.

Read more

Where to Find Points and Miles That You Might Not Know About

Part of an effective miles and points earning strategy is to take advantage of every opportunity to rack up extra miles. Here are some tips for earning miles in places you may not have thought of before.

Read more

Award Ticket Availability to the Super Bowl in Houston

Airline ticket and hotel prices go through the roof for the host city during big events like the upcoming Super Bowl, which is being held in Houston on Sunday, February 5.

One way to cut costs if you want to see it in person is to use points and miles where the price in miles is fixed regardless of the cash price of the ticket. Because tickets will be costly. You can expect to use 25,000 miles to get to Texas for the game though some airlines will cost more and at least one route is less.

Read more

Extreme Reward Stacking When Dining Out

dining

Unless you’re a road warrior with elite status, chances are you earn more points and miles through credit card spend rather than actually flying. Hopefully, you have one or two credit cards in your wallet that earn bonus points on dining, but there could be extra points you’re leaving on the table. In the points and miles hobby, the art of stacking is an advanced skill to accelerate your points earning potential, and it might even save you money.

Read more

It’s Time for Your Annual Frequent Flyer Mileage Checkup

Now is a good time to review where you stand with your preferred airline and hotel partners.

If you don’t take action, when the clock ticks to midnight on January 1, your elite status fate for the coming year will be sealed. Since airlines and hotels base elite status and earned rewards on the calendar year, everything must take place before the end of the year.

Read more

5 Things You Might Not Know About Your Credit Score

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Your credit score is one of your most valuable assets and you should nurture it and protect it. You want a healthy credit score to help you accomplish all of your life goals, including getting a mortgage or car loan (with reasonable interest rates) or passing a potential employer or landlord’s background check.

You also want a high credit score so you can fully participate in the lucrative hobby of collecting frequent flyer miles, hotel loyalty program points, or bank points (such as American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou points).

Read more

Alaska and Virgin America Finally Tie the Knot While Alaska and Delta Split

It’s a messy relationship when it comes to airline partners, and this month sees Alaska end its on-again, off-again relationship with Delta and formally marry Virgin America. This is good news for Alaska fliers although Delta travelers lose a valuable earning and burning partner. Alaska also beefed up benefits for its Mileage Plan members; this is a net win for Alaska fliers.

Read more

2016 Major Trends Include Mergers Shaking Things Up and the Spread of Anti-Churning Rules

travel news

The past year was one of non-stop change in the travel rewards industry with huge changes in major frequent flyer programs, bank credit card offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. We saw devaluations continue for all three of the major domestic legacy airlines. And the major travel rewards credit card issuing banks all imposed stricter sign-up bonus rules. There were several mergers between airlines and hotels that also lead to some big changes to loyalty programs.

Read more

MissTravel: Dating and Global Travel

Have you wished you had a special someone to explore the world with? You might want to check out MissTravel.com, an online dating site for travelers.

Headquartered in Las Vegas, MissTravel is among the new wave of dating sites that cater to specific lifestyles. Entrepreneur Brandon Wade founded the site in 2012 and serves as chief executive officer.

Read more

Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping Mall Portal: A Primer

If Southwest Rapid Rewards is your main frequent flyer program, you need to be aware of Rapid Reward Shopping as well. This online shopping mall acts as a portal to all of your favorite online retailers, from Kohl’s and Old Navy to JCPenney and Ulta Beauty. All you need to do to earn extra Rapid Rewards points is visit the portal and click on the store you wish to shop at. Then, once you make a purchase, you’ll be rewarded with a certain number of Rapid Rewards per dollar spent. It’s that easy, but we’ll step you through the entire process.

Read more

Barclaycard Offering AAdvantage Aviator Cards Again

aviator credit card

The wait is over! Barclaycard has released the online application page for the Aviator Red Mastercard.

Barclaycard was the issuer of the US Airways co-branded cards before US Airways merged with American Airlines. When the merger occurred, existing cardholders were given the option to convert their cards to a variety of new Aviator cards in the lineup. Unfortunately, those cards were not available for new applicants at that time.

Read more

Score American Airlines Elite Status Spending Waivers with These Credit Cards

As we approach the holiday season, sign-up bonus offers for new credit cards are proving to be generous and rewarding. Also, read on to find out how Hilton is making lifetime Diamond status easier to achieve and how to bypass part of American’s new elite status spending requirements in the new year.

Read more

The Year in Review: Frequent Flyer Program Changes in 2016

A lot happened in the world of frequent flyer programs this year. Not surprisingly, award chart devaluations were the norm, particularly for premium cabins. The news wasn’t all bad, though. Some redemptions actually dropped in price, and airlines and credit card issuers introduced new partnerships, giving members more redemption and transfer options.

Read more

Are You Booking Your First Award Tickets by Phone? Here’s How

You’ve been painstakingly saving those miles for a special trip and you finally reached your goal. You’ve got enough miles to book that award flight you’ve had your eye on. Booking award travel can be a bit intimidating if you haven’t done it before—especially when booking over the phone. But, have no fear. It’s easy to master the art of booking award tickets. Just use our handy script if this is your first time trying to book a free flight from your frequent flyer program.

Read more

Delta SkyMiles Shopping Mall Portal: A Primer

If you are a fan of online shopping and you’re a miles and points junkie, you have to get in the habit of using your favorite airline or hotel’s online shopping portal. Delta Skymiles Shopping is just such a portal, and we’ll show you exactly how to sign up so you’ll be rewarded with extra miles on purchases made through this venue. We’ll also show you how to spot deals at SkyMiles Shopping and how to know when to pass up that purchase.

Read more

Christmas Shopping Travel Hacker Style

How much will you spend on holiday shopping this year? According to PricewaterhouseCoopers the average shopper will spend about $1,100 although many will spend more.

When you add to that the amount spent on food, entertainment and other holiday expenses, this time of year represents a tremendous rewards opportunity for savvy travel hackers. It’s just a matter of knowing how to buy travel hacker style.

Read more