It happens to all of us. You’re planning a trip and you find the award flight you want, but you’re just a few miles short. What do you do? The easiest solution is to transfer points from a rewards credit card to your frequent flyer account. Or better yet, get a new card with a big sign-up bonus. You’ll probably even have enough miles to upgrade from coach to business. Why not travel in style?
Get These Credit Cards to Top Off Your AA, Delta or United Frequent Flyer Account
Best Use of Citi ThankYou Points for Flights to Asia
Tickets to Asia are usually north of $1,000 and sometimes close to $2,000. You can use Citi ThankYou points to fly there free by booking your flight with the Citi Travel Center or by transferring the points to one of the Citi’s airline partners. Booking through the travel portal is rarely a good deal though, due to the high cost of the ticket. Transferring points to a frequent flyer program is generally a more prudent choice. We give you the lowdown on which programs are the best transfer options.
9 Tips When Applying for a Travel Rewards Cards
There are so many travel rewards credit cards out there, choosing can be a dizzying process. Features including sign-up bonuses and other perks that can often make many cards sound perfect.
Beyond the bonuses and perks, though, lies a minefield of caveats. These 10 tips can help you come out on the other end with the card of your dreams.
How to Fly Etihad’s Luxurious Residence on Miles and How to Get 500 Miles in Five Seconds
Until now, Etihad has kept its Airbus A380 private residence an option for big spenders only. Now, the airline is allowing big mileage spenders to get in on the luxurious experience. Plus, there are plenty of bonus miles and points up for grabs this week.
The Best Apps for Tracking Miles and Points
One of the first things you need to do when you
Best Airline Programs to Fly in Premium Cabins to South America
When you think about ultra-long hauls we usually think Asia, the Middle East and Oceania. But flights to South America can be almost as long. A nonstop journey between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo is clocked just under 13 hours. That’s even longer than a flight from the west coast to Seoul. A journey from the east coast can be almost as tedious – about 12 hours for flights to Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile. That’s a long time to spend in a cramped economy seat.
What to Do If You’re Declined for a Travel Credit Card
You’ve done the research. You’ve figured out which one of the myriad of rewards credit cards you want. It’s the perfect card to earn a free flight fast to wherever you want to go. You apply and… you get declined! Don’t worry; we know what you should do next.
The Best Credit Cards to Get to Australia and New Zealand With Miles
Planning a trip Down Under? A flight from the U.S. can be expensive, so it’s worth saving your miles and getting your ticket for nearly free. It can take as little as 15 months to earn an award ticket to New Zealand, and as little as 18 months to Australia if you channel $1,500 a month through a recommended credit card.
United’s New Award Rules Are Worse Than Initially Feared
Anytime an airline announces changes to their award program, the changes are usually worse than the airline tries to make them sound. In August, United announced major changes to award booking rules as well as to their online booking engine. These changes became effective last week on October 6 and now that we have had some time to test out the new booking engine, we can confirm the devaluation is worse than expected and that United’s original announcement was a bit deceptive.
Chase Ultimate Rewards: Best and Worst United MileagePlus Redemptions
United is arguably the most popular Chase airline transfer partner, and transferring Ultimate Rewards points to United often makes sense when the price in points on the Ultimate Rewards website is too high compare to what you could pay for the flight using alternative currencies —
Airbnb and United Partner Up, New Award Ticket Options to Europe and 5x on Amex Travel
Airlines in the SkyTeam alliance are making it easy to request missing miles from past flights. Frequent flyers should always double-check their accounts to make sure they receive credit for flying. It’s easy to forget to look and sometimes miles are missed. Other news this week include new amenities aboard Hawaiian Airlines, new routes between North America and Europe, 3x on Airbnb through United’s app and a new 5x bonus for Amex premium cardholders.
The Best Credit Cards to Get to South America With Miles
Were you inspired by the Olympics to see more of South America? Maybe you want to party during Carnival in Rio? Or perhaps you’re drawn to the continent’s stunning natural wonders, such as the Amazon River, Galapogos Islands and Iguazu Falls. Whatever the reason, you can get there for nearly free in as little as three months with the right credit card.
Alitalia Aligns MilleMiglia Benefits Across Etihad Partner Airlines
In the travel enthusiast community, it seems we can barely go a few weeks without an announcement of some sort of award chart devaluation or benefit reduction in one of our favorite programs. So any time we can actually announce an improvement to an award program, it comes as a big relief.
Airport Lounge Access: How Do You Get it and at What Cost?
Have you ever been stuck waiting for a flight in an overcrowded terminal with overpriced food and drinks, unbearable noise, and nowhere to plug-in your phone? You are not alone. But there is a solution: get access to an airport lounge. In this post we will compare the lounge access benefits offered by a variety of credit cards. A warning in advance: they all come with a $450 fee. But the lounge access and all the other benefits you get are worth it for many travelers. The intro bonus alone usually pays for a free flight. To see of one of these cards is the best choice to help you fund the flight of your dreams, register at RewardExpert.
Maximizing Travel by Getting Friends and Family Involved
Are you someone who tries to earn enough points and miles to travel with your entire family? Do you have friends constantly picking your brain to figure out how you travel around the world for free? It may be time to stop going it alone and get your friends and family involved in your travel hacking hobby.
Our Top Picks for October: Credit Cards With Bigger Than Usual Sign-Up Bonuses
Marriott SPG Merger Opens New Doors for Points and Miles Collectors
New Opportunities from the Marriott/Starwood Merger
Remember when it was first announced that Marriott would be buying Starwood? It struck fear into the hearts of many travel hackers that the industry’s most valuable transferable point program might be ruined or even eliminated by a hotel chain with a low value rewards program. So far, those fears have been unfounded. Marriott and SPG recently announced the first major changes to their awards programs and the news is good!Using Chase Ultimate Rewards Points: Best and Worst Uses Through the Booking Portal
Chase Ultimate Rewards is a great program with many fans. Just like the American Express Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou programs, Ultimate Rewards offer multiple ways to redeem points. It is the only program that allows easy cash redemption at 100:1, but it mostly shines on travel redemptions.
If you
Chase Sapphire Reserve Post-Mortem and Ways Around the 5/24 Rule
The release of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card set off a whirlwind of excitement, disappointment, questions, and answers around the travel blogosphere. When the card was released, Chase was not particularly clear on the details regarding some of the benefits. Now that people have received their cards and started activating and using the benefits, we have a better understanding of everything this card entails.
How to Find Millions of Airline Bonus Miles
Everyone knows that you can earn frequent flyer miles by flying, and if you’re serious about collecting miles you probably also know that using a rewards credit card is a great way to earn while you’re on the ground. What you might not know is that there are a lot of other ways to earn, too.