Educational Posts on Loyalty Programs

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Mileage Redemption Options And Bonus Points for Online Shopping

Alaska Mileage Plan is a crowd pleaser, and it continues to impress with new redemption opportunities with Japan Airlines. Also, don’t miss the latest points and mileage earning bonuses for making online purchases as you shop around presents this holiday season.

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CleverLayover: Save Money On Global Travel

How would you like to save money on long-distance flights? That’s what CleverLayover says they can do.

RewardExpert spoke with CEO and Co-founder Phil Hu to find out more. He explains the secrets of the system and offers a few travel tips.

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Best App for Renewing Your Passport

Best App for International Travel

The appropriately named ItsEasy app makes it easy to renew your passport. You’ll never need to trudge down to the post office and wait in line again. Just use an iPhone or iPad to snap your photo, fill out the appropriate forms and send them off to ItsEasy. They’ll take care of the rest.

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Help City Kids by Donating United Miles to R.O.C.K.

Real Options for City Kids, or R.O.C.K. for short, is a San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides active and enriching programs to youth living in the working class neighborhood of Visitacion Valley. R.O.C.K. gives kids in this underserved community a chance to participate in activities they wouldn’t normally have access to, such as sports, outdoor adventures and a variety academic programs. Thanks to a partnership with United Airlines, you can donate MileagePlus miles to this worthy charity.

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United Pulls Back the Curtain on Polaris and Delta Gouges Members Who Want to Buy Extra MQMs

United’s much-heralded Polaris lounge and inflight product are finally here. The airline rolled out the new offering Dec. 1 and will slowly make its way across the airline’s network in the coming months and year. Delta also put its MQMs on sale, but the prices will make your jaw drop. At least, Air France and KLM have put some awards on sale and Aeroplan (Air Canada) has some free miles up for grabs.

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Using Citi ThankYou Points on Virgin Atlantic to Fly Delta and on JetBlue to Get to Cuba

Virgin Atlantic can be a fantastic airline to transfer your Citi ThankYou points to. The airline has 10 redemption partners of its own, so finding a good value is not an issue. You just need to be strategic and do your homework before transferring your points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Transfers are usually instantaneous, and you can even transfer your points while on the phone with an agent.

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Credit Cards That Reimburse You for Delayed Flights

We’ve all experienced flight delays. While it’s never fun, you can have some control over the situation if you’ve paid for your ticket with the right credit card. Some cards will reimburse you for expenses incurred because of the delay giving you plenty of options including taking a different flight, renting a car or staying at a hotel. Let’s take a look at which cards offer what.

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Best and Worst Use of Citi ThankYou Points on Air France/KLM and Singapore

citi thankyou points

Unlike Chase which partners with United, and American Express which partners with Delta, Citi doesn’t have a major U.S. airline partner. But it does have many foreign airline partners that you can transfer ThankYou points to and book one of the three domestic legacy carriers.

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Best and Worst Use of Citi ThankYou Points Through the Bank’s Travel Center

The Citi ThankYou travel rewards program is very similar to the American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards programs. Just like those two, Citi ThankYou allows you to book travel through its own portal or transfer your points to airline partners if you have a premium card. 

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Donate Southwest Airlines Points to Team Rubicon

In 2010, U.S. Marines William McNulty and Jake Wood put together a small team of military veterans and first responders to head into Haiti after the earthquake. They were in Port-au-Prince three days after the quake, providing much needed medical services and supplies while many relief organizations were still waiting to enter the city.

Team Rubicon was born, and it has since grown its ranks to 40,000 volunteers who have participated in over 120 operations around the world. You can support their disaster relief efforts by donating your Southwest Airlines points.

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Annual Spending Bonuses to Hit Before the Year is Over

spend bonuses

Did you know that many travel rewards credit cards come with annual spending bonuses? These bonuses can often boost you to higher levels of elite status. But there is an element of art as well as science in determining whether to ramp up spend on a specific card. We’ll break it down for you here.

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GateGuru: The Yelp of Airports

gateguru app

A mobile phone is a traveler’s most trusted resource. Before settling into your seat and setting your phone to “airplane mode,” there are many logistic hurdles to overcome.

GateGuru has created a mobile app that guides you through major airports. While other apps focus on booking a fight, this app is all about the airport experience.

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Best and Worst American Express Membership Rewards Redemptions on Cathay Pacific and Etihad

American Express has almost 20 airline partners, and you can transfer your Membership Rewards points to any of them. Two of the best Amex airline partners you might consider are Cathay Pacific and Etihad, but like other airline frequent flyer programs there are some sweet spots and some that may not be worth the transfer.

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How Small Businesses Can Maximize Rewards for Air Travel

Big companies get discounts and special deals for committing their business to one airline. This is often done behind the scenes and is a common and expected practice among airlines. It might even include complimentary elite status and fee waivers for corporate travelers.

But what about smaller companies? Isn’t their business valuable, too? Isn’t that the entire idea behind loyalty?

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How to Increase Your Credit Limit

How to Increase Your Credit Limit image

Credit card companies will typically increase the maximum amount of money they will let you borrow over time, particularly if you have good credit. But what if you want a higher credit limit before they offer it to you? Is there a good way to increase your credit and is it a good idea? Let’s find out.

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How to Earn and Use Hawaiian Airlines Miles

hawaiian airlines

Hawaiian Airlines’ reward program doesn’t get as much attention as some of the larger airlines, but it has some unique features that make it useful for many travelers, especially those planning a trip to Hawaii or between various Hawaiian Islands. Let’s take a look at Hawaiian’s award chart, award booking process and ways to rack up Hawaiian miles yo help you get familiar with the Hawaiian carrier.

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Delta Discounts Award Tickets, But Raises the Cash Cost; Donate JetBlue Points and the Airline Will Match

Delta is surprising us with a Cyber Monday mileage sale; it’s not often that Delta lowers the price of a mileage ticket. And JetBlue is helping us to feel extra thankful this season by matching our TrueBlue point donations to charity.

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Take a Tour of United’s Food and Beverage Offerings

If you fly the friendly skies, you’ll be pleased to know that United Airlines has made significant investments in its on-the-ground and onboard dining experience. In a way, United has been playing catch up with its competitors, but caught up, it has. Investments have boosted the flavors and quantity of food and beverages the airline offers its customers. Let’s take a look at what to expect when you fly on one of the founding members of Star Alliance.

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Hero Miles Helps Service Members Get the Medical Treatment They Need

charity

Hero Miles provides free flights to wounded, injured and ill service members and their families. You can give American, Delta, United, Alaska and Frontier miles to help support this worthy cause.

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Best and Worst Use of American Express Membership Rewards When Transferring Points to Airlines

membership rewards

We explained the best and worst redemptions for American Express Membership Rewards through the Amex Travel Portal. Now we look at the value of those points when transferred to frequent flyer programs.

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