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Many travelers who earn frequent flyer miles aren’t always interested in booking an award ticket. Instead, they want to use their miles to upgrade a ticket they’ve already bought with cash. Upgrades and award travel have a lot in common, but the rules are unique for every loyalty program. This post discusses how to upgrade a ticket purchased with American Airlines.

With the recent debut of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, Chase now has two personal credit cards which carry the ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards to Chase’s network of transfer partners. Since Chase Ultimate Rewards has the best combination of credit cards, diversity of transfer partners, and overall value among the transferable points programs, holding one of these two cards will be part of a long-term strategy for many travel enthusiasts.

This week’s roundup has both good and bad news. The Chase Sapphire Reserve applicataion went live this past week with its 100,000 point sign-up bonus. But while there are lots of great ways to earn bonus miles, Etihad has squashed one of our favorite benefits on first class award tickets. Read it and weep amidst the plethora of other good deals out there.

Among credit cards, there is one card that stands apart from all others. The Centurion Card from American Express is by far the most expensive, and exclusive card offered in the United States. Yet it’s also perhaps the least understood as many of its features and benefits are kept secret. In fact, this card is not even offered to the general public, you have to be invited to apply. Let’s take a look at the history of this card, how to get it, and what it costs, as well as its numerous features and benefits. Then, you can determine if this card makes sense for your needs.

Now that Chase has entered the premium segment of the credit card market with its new Sapphire Reserve card, it’s time for a comparison of the premium offerings from the three primary travel rewards credit card issuers, Chase, Citi and Amex. We rank each of these cards in a variety of categories and come up with a winner.

There have been numerous changes implemented and announced by the three major U.S. airlines, United, American and Delta, in recent months with modifications to frequent flyer programs, credit cards, bank relationships, planes, routes and service.

Flying in a premium class seat to Asia might be one of the best ways to redeem your miles. Being able to enjoy a comfortable seat that turns into a bed can make a world of difference. Of course, airlines know that people are willing to pay more to avoid being miserable on such a long flight and price their premium class flights accordingly. Still, good values are to be had if you know where to look for them.

New Chase Sapphire Reserve Details and Analysis

The longest line you’ll face when traveling may not be at check-in or even airport security. Instead, clearing customs and immigration can take hours at busy airports when several international flights arrive at once. Global Entry is one of the best programs available to travelers who hope to skip past these lines in the U.S. We also give you a few other options that may be cheaper.

Who Is the Spark Miles Select for Business Card Good For?

There’s always exciting news in the travel world, and this week is no different. Learn a clever workaround for maximizing your miles even with new revenue-based programs. Plus, there is some great news in the credit card world, like a new premium card offering 100,000 points and lounge upgrades.

When you apply for TSA PreCheck, you’re essentially requesting a Known Traveler Number. This basic form of registration identifies you as an unlikely threat to national security and enables you to speed through the airport checkpoint with less scrutiny.

1. Credit Card Sign-up Bonuses

What are the New Bonus Rules?

Are you planning a trip to Europe? Do you want to save some money and fly there for nearly free? The quickest way to do that is to earn miles or points with travel rewards credit cards and redeem them for award flights. Read on to find out which cards can get you to Europe the soonest.

If you happen to be flying on an Etihad Airways route between Abu Dhabi and New York (JFK), London Heathrow, Melbourne, Mumbai or Sydney, and have enough airline miles, you can exchange that annoying cramped economy seat for an apartment with more amenities than you can imagine.

Who Is the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card Good For?

This week is chock full of travel-related news for frequent flyers. Whether you are earning or burning miles as you travel, consider these tidbits to discover ways to improve upon and enjoy the journey, no matter where you are headed.

Who Is the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Good For?

In our weekly roundup column we look at what’s happening around the world that is of interest to miles and points collectors.