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Virgin Australia Velocity Program Review

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.

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Capital One Venture Miles Rewards Credit Card Review

Who Is the Capital One Venture Miles Rewards Credit Card Good For?

If you watch television, you are no doubt familiar with the Capital One travel credit cards, which offer rewards with “no blackout dates for “any seat. In reality, Capital Ones program does not convert your spend to airline miles at all, but rather allows you to credit your rewards against purchases you’ve already made at a straight 1-cent-per-dollar rate.

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Frequent Flyer Program Lingo

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.

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Go to Cuba Now and Beat the Crowds

Go to Cuba Now and Beat the Crowds

In many ways Cuba is a country frozen in time, which makes it a fascinating destination. Meticulously maintained vintage cars from the 1950s roam the streets, and colonial architecture still dominates Havana. Only an hour and a half away from the capital, and you’re in Veradero enjoying some of the best unspoiled beaches and pristine waters in the Caribbean.

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How to Book Alaska Airlines Awards

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.

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Qatar Airways Privilege Club Program Review

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.

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Ink Plus Business Credit Card Review

Who Is the Ink Plus Business Credit Card Good For?

Ink Plus is a line of credit cards specifically for small businesses. While American Express and Diners Club do a lot in the corporate market, Chase has instead taken the tack of addressing an undeserved entrepreneurial market with a very well-developed product.

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Award Booking Lingo: 25 Terms You Need to Know

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.

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Fly to Milan for the 2015 World Expo

Fly to Milan for the 2015 World Expo

Milan was just named the number one place to go in 2015 by the New York Times. This year the city will host the 2015 World Expo from May 1 until October 31, so if you’re savvy enough with your booking dates you can explore the over 60 pavilions from more than 130 countries for the bargain price of an off-peak award ticket. You’ll have to fly in early May or late October, but you’ll save 20,000 miles.

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How to Book Airline Awards with Starwood Preferred Guest

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.

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Gulf Air Falconflyer Program Review

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

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Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard Credit Card Review

Who Is the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard Good For?

If you’re looking for a co-branded American Airlines card that’s relatively low on fees and high on perks, the Platinum Select card is probably a great fit for you.

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Find Great Bargains with American Airlines Off-Peak Awards

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.


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Where the Frequent Flyer Gurus Go

Where the Frequent Flyer Gurus Go

As you talk with travelers who are hard-core frequent flyer fans, you’ll often hear recurring themes when it comes to vacation destinations. That’s because miles allow you to visit exotic places that you might never visit if you had to pay for the airline ticket out of pocket. Once you’ve unlocked the secret value of frequent flyer miles, you suddenly see new possibilities when planning trips. Here are a few places that most frequent flyer gurus have visited using their miles.

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How to Book Chase Ultimate Rewards Awards

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.

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Etihad Guest Program Review

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.

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Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard Credit Card Review

Who Is the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard Good For?

Though Barclays partners with quite a few hotel, airline and other reward programs for co-branded cards, its Barclaycard Arrival reward program, one of the newest on the travel reward scene, has made a name for itself fast even though it doesn’t actually have any travel transfer partners.

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The Marriott Reward Program Has a Hidden Gem

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.

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How to Book Lufthansa’s Miles and More Awards

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.

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Emirates Skywards Program Review

emirates skywards program review

A good way for North American frequent flyers to understand Emirates is to think of it as akin to Alaska Airlines. They are both hometown airlines that have slowly grown through strategic partnerships and smart market choices into major global forces. But they always put the expectations of local passengers first. In the case of Emirates, that means impeccable style and service.

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