Educational Posts on Loyalty Programs

Program devaluations are the bane of every frequent flyer. You go into this pastime with your eyes open. You study the program rules and award charts and make a plan to earn the miles that will net you award flights to your dream destination.

If you’re saving frequent flyer miles, there’s a good chance that you have plans to use them to get to and from Hawaii. Travel to these gorgeous islands is a rite of passage for nearly every loyalty program enthusiast.

Who Is SAS EuroBonus Good For?

The Scandinavians have a reputation for doing things simply but efficiently with a unique mix of pizzazz and understatement, and you shouldn’t expect anything less from their loyalty program.

Some airlines like American Airlines have predictable off-peak mileage discounts to various destinations, but there are also several programs that offer reduced mileage bargains throughout the year.

JetBlue has been a favorite of frequent flyers since the low-cost airline came on the scene in 2000. Despite offering very affordable fares, the carrier didn’t skimp on service and that helped build a loyal customer base as well as industry accolades. In fact, JetBlue has won JD Power and Associates’ award for Top Low Cost Airline for Customer Satisfaction for 10 years in a row.

As a North American traveler, you might not think Korean Air’s SKYPASS is the best frequent flyer program for you, but you might be surprised.

In our series on points and miles terminology, you’ve learned about the lingo used by airlines, frequent flyer programs and for award bookings. Here are the words you need to know to maximize your points and miles earning through credit cards.

Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flagship carrier of Japan. JAL’s planes and service in all cabins are consistently rated among the best in the industry. Their award program, JAL Mileage Bank (JMB), is flexible and offers some great redemption rates on flights between the U.S. and Japan. They are also a member of the powerful oneworld alliance.

Australia is one of the few places in the world where frequent flyer programs are as developed as in the U.S., particularly in terms of earning opportunities.

Air travel is, by necessity, a jargon-filled industry. There are countless technical abbreviations used by pilots, airline officials and aviation geeks, but the lingo used in frequent flyer programs can be equally overwhelming. The dozens and dozens of programs out there tend to each have their own way of approaching these terms.

For a domestic airline, Alaska Airlines is a bit of an odd duck. It’s the only regional airline that hasn’t disappeared in the past decade of consolidations, and it’s not part of any of the major alliances. However, it functions in many ways like a legacy carrier.

Qatar Airways has been in the news in recent years. You may have heard about them joining the oneworld alliance and completely revamping Qatar Privilege Club, its frequent flyer program. Or more recently you might have heard the name because of the ongoing saga over the delivery of its long-awaited Airbus A380s, the biggest, most comfortable planes in the sky.

Here’s some lingo you should know when booking an award flight using points or miles. These 25 booking terms can help you sort through the jargon like a pro.

Starwood Preferred Guest is unlike other hotel reward programs because even though Starwood has a co-branded credit card with American Express, the hotel chain runs its own points transfer program. Members can transfer Starpoints they accrue through credit card spending or hotel stays directly to airlines at an extremely advantageous rate.

For North American flyers, its easy to be confused by all the luxurious Middle Eastern carriers and their provenance.

Using off-peak awards with American Airlines is one of the best ways to make your AAdvantage miles go further. If you don’t mind traveling off-season, they offer exceptional savings on flights to Europe and South America.

In the world of travel credit card transfer programs, Chase Ultimate Rewards is still a relatively new kid on the block. Its made a name for itself, though, by offering key perks that travelers crave: extremely valuable partners, instant transfers, and an ability to use your points on any flight at any time even when award seats aren’t available.

If you’ve heard the buzz about the three-room apartment in the sky complete with personal butler The Residence you’ve gotten a little taste of how Etihad is pushing the limits of what travelers expect from their airline. That difference also extends to its reward program, Etihad Guest, which includes many of the familiar perks you enjoy in other programs, such as Miles+Cash awards and no blackout dates, along with some innovations, like the ability to cash out your miles directly into money if you so choose.

Most hotel loyalty programs allow you to convert hotel points to airline miles. But airline miles are normally more valuable than hotel points (with the notable exception of the SPG program), so transferring points to miles is usually a losing proposition. Your points will transfer with a very poor ratio, around 1,000 points will transfer to between 200 and 400 miles. However, using Marriott’s RewardsPlus Hotel program in conjunction with the United Mileage Plus Program can reap major benefits.

Lufthansa’s Miles and More is one of the best frequent flyer programs among European carriers. Despite some heavy fuel surcharges by Lufthansa and most of its European partners, the Miles and More program has enough sweet spots to make it very valuable, and award flights could be a true bargain under the right  circumstances.