Educational Posts on Loyalty Programs

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New Alaska Airlines’ Board Room Lounge in Seattle

Alaska Airlines’ expansion continues. In addition to introducing new routes, signing codeshare deals and brokering lounge partnerships, the airline is building more airport lounges. Its newest one, the Board Room, is opening in Seattle in mid-November.

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Travelers Predict Space Travel and Underwater Hotels for the Future

A new study commissioned by the Marriott Rewards credit card from Chase gave travelers the opportunity to stretch their imaginations by asking them to predict what travel would look like in 2030. They did not disappoint, saying that they expect to be able to vacation in space, engage holographic personal trainers and book stays at underwater hotels.

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Using Stopovers on United to Save Miles: Australia and Fiji

In this post, we’ll show you how to use United’s free stopover policy to save miles on an award flight to Australia. As an added bonus, this mile-saving itinerary also takes you to the exotic island of

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Delta Adds More Nonstop Flights Between New York and Tel Aviv

Delta is adding four new weekly flights between its hub in New York and Tel Aviv. These nonstop flights will start on May 26, 2016, just in time for next summer. Tickets are on sale now.

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More Flights to Cuba From JetBlue

When the U.S. eased travel restrictions to Cuba earlier this year, JetBlue was the first to introduce charter flights from New York to Havana. Now it has added a second flight a week to this hot destination.

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Using Stopovers on United to See More: The Caribbean and Central America

United’s frequent flyer program, MileagePlus, puts Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America into one region. That means that you can fly from the U.S. to anywhere in the region for 35,000 miles in economy. United also lets you take one free stopover per roundtrip, so you can visit two destinations in this region for the same amount of miles.

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Qatar Airways Picks Up the Pace With More Flights to India

Qatar Airways is reinstating its nonstop flights from Doha to Nagpur, an emerging trade and business hub in India, on December 1. With the expanded service, the airline’s total weekly flights to over a dozen destinations in India will increase from 95 to 102.

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Using Stopovers on United to See More: Hawaii and Beyond

United’s frequent flyer program, MileagePlus, allows you to use one stopover and two open jaws for free on a round-trip award ticket. By taking advantage of this generous booking policy, you can see more places without paying more miles. For example, you could spend a few days in Hawaii on your way to Japan for the same cost as flying directly to Tokyo.

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Get United Miles for Your Next Hotel Stay

United Airlines’ company slogan invites passengers to “fly the friendly skies,” but makes no mention of how to do it with miles. Enter the airline’s excellent loyalty program, MileagePlus, which is currently offering three ways for members to earn anywhere from double to 2,500 miles a night at select hotels.

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Fly From Orange County to Puerto Vallarta on Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines’ new route from Orange County to Puerto Vallarta has gone live, with year-round service to the popular resort town. More than just fantastic beaches, Puerto Vallarta has a thriving culinary scene, bustling nightlife, nearby jungle adventures and a historic downtown that’s ready for you to explore.

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Using Stopovers on United to Save Miles: The Middle East and China

United allows MileagePlus members to use a stopover and two open jaws for free on a round-trip award flight. You can use this policy to your advantage and fly to more places for free. Sometimes you can even save miles by adding a stopover to your itinerary. In this post, we’ll see how to maximize the destinations on your itinerary and save miles at the same time.

A stopover is when you stop somewhere on your way to your final destination for more than four hours on a domestic flight, or for more than 24 hours on an international flight. On a United award ticket, you can visit two cities in Europe or two cities on different continents for the price of a round-trip flight.

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American Airlines Now Flying to Mérida From Dallas

American Airlines will be heading out to Mérida from Dallas starting on March 3, 2016. There will be five weekly nonstop flights to this vibrant and charming Mexican city, which offers a fascinating mix of Mayan heritage and European colonial influences.

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Using Open Jaws on United to See More

We’re continuing our series on how to get the most out of United award tickets by looking at the airline’s free open jaw. With an open jaw, you can fly to one destination and return from another, or you can depart from one city and return to a different one. Either way, you can visit more places for the same price as a round-trip award ticket.

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Fly From Syracuse to Fort Lauderdale on JetBlue

This winter, there’s a new way for Syracuse residents to escape the notoriously snowy and cold upstate New York winters. JetBlue is offering a new seasonal nonstop route between Syracuse and Fort Lauderdale. So get ready for some beaches and sunshine.

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Using Stopovers on United to Save Miles: The Middle East and Japan

Using United’s free stopover, you can see more places for the same amount of miles. But did you know that you can save miles by adding a stopover to your itinerary?

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Southwest Is Open for Business in Houston

Southwest Airlines—known for its no-frills, low-cost approach to flying—has opened a new international concourse in Houston’s Hobby Airport. Passengers using the Houston hub now have more options, as this previously domestic-only airport goes international with five new gates.

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Using Stopovers on United to See More: Europe and Asia

In our last post on stopovers, we talked about how to use United’s free stopovers to see two places in Europe for the same amount of miles as a roundtrip. In this post, we’ll discuss how to visit two destinations on two continents using United stopovers.

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Who Else Is Flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner?

Last week we published the first part of our Plane Spotting series, covering the latest airlines to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. So many airlines have added the aircraft to their fleets since we reported on this topic a year ago that we had to split our update into two parts.

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What Are Stopovers?

Stopovers are an underutilized mechanism that can be used to see more places on an award ticket for the same amount of miles as a direct flight. While most people want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, seasoned travelers know how to get the most for their miles.

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Icelandair Returns to Orlando International Airport

Over the past few months, Icelandair has been rolling out new routes across the globe, including some strategic moves in the United States. As part of that push to expand, the carrier started flying out of Orlando International this month after a nine-year absence. The nonstop flights to Icelandair’s hub at Reykjavik, depart on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m.

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