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Programs and Destinations with Reduced Mileage Offers

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.

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How to Find Award Flights to Croatia’s Historic Port of Dubrovnik

How to Find Award Flights to Croatia's Historic Port of Dubrovnik

Nestled between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps, this stunning Croatian resort town is known for its natural beauty and tranquility as well as its rich history and cultural heritage.

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How to Book JetBlue Awards

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.

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Korean Air SKYPASS Review

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.

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Gold Delta SkyMiles From American Express Credit Card Review

Gold-Delta-SkyMiles-From-American-Express-Credit-Card

Who Is the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card From American Express Good For?

Delta is a polarizing airline for many travelers. It is known for its limited saver award availability and an award booking website that is not always accurate, so many frequent flyers scorn the airline on principle.

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Reward Credit Card Lingo

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.

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Enjoy the Beautiful Beaches of the Philippines

Enjoy the Beautiful Beaches of the Philippines

The Philippines is comprised of over 7,000 islands, some of which are among the most magnificent in the world. Almost 90 percent of the islands are uninhabited, making the Philippines a hotbed of Asia’s ecotourism in its most pure and unadulterated form.

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How to Book Japan Airlines Awards

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.

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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 World Elite Mastercard Credit Card Review

Who Is the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite 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.
For just $99 a year, you’ll receive a decent sign-up bonus of at least 50,000 miles, earn a $125 American Airlines Flight Discount and save up to 7,500 miles on select flights with American’s Reduced Mileage awards. You’ll also get a free checked bag, preferred boarding and in-flight discounts on American flights.

If you often fly on American, this could be the right card for you.
AIRLINE TRANSFER PARTNERAmerican Airlines
ANNUAL FEE$99 (waived for the first 12 months)
RECOMMENDED CREDIT SCORE750+
TYPE OF CARDMastercard
ISSUERCiti

Sign-Up Bonuses:

This card’s standard bonus is for 30,000 miles, but a 50,000-mile offer usually comes up more than once a year for several months at a time. Occasionally American will throw in a couple Admirals Club passes, too.
The spend required to earn the bonus miles can vary significantly, with the 30,000-mile offer typically requiring only a $1,000 spend and the 50,000-mile offer between $2,000 and $3,000. You usually have three months to reach the minimum spend.
 Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard
The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select card


Points Earned:

  • 2 miles per dollar spent on American Airlines
  • 1 mile per dollar on everything else
  • plus, 2x miles in other categories like restaurants or gas stations, that may change from time to time.

What Do Your Miles Get You?

American Airlines miles can easily be redeemed online for flights on American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Qantas Airways and other oneworld alliance members and partner airlines.

Though American charges a late booking fee and relatively hefty change fees, it has pretty reliable availability booking in advance or close-in (except for big holiday seasons like Christmas) and incredibly low off-peak award rates internationally, so your American Airlines miles can be more valuable than those of other domestic carriers.

Usage Perks:

  • First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines flights for the cardholder and up to four companions on the same reservation
  • Preferred boarding on American Airlines-operated flights for the cardholder and up to four companions on the same reservation
  • 25 percent off in-flight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines
  • Access to a monthly selection of awards discounted at 3,750 miles each way

Usage Quirks:

  • Miles expire in 24 months, which is standard for many programs. However, primary AAdvantage® credit cardmembers will not be subject to the 24-month qualifying activity period for as long as their card account is open.

How Far Do Your Points Dollars Go?

When you use off-peak awards to destinations in Eastern Asia, such as Japan, you’ll pay starting from 70,000 miles roundtrip. If you bought that same flight in cash, you’d pay somewhere from $1,328.
American-Airlines-award-chart
American Airlines award chart
You can get even better value if you use miles for high-end cabins on award-winning partner airlines, such as Cathay Pacific which regularly comes in right behind Singapore Airlines’ famous suites in lists of the top first class cabins. For just 160,000 miles roundtrip, you can get nearly 40 hours in the lap of luxury on a flight that typically costs $18,835 roundtrip. That’s a 14 cents per mile value for your AAdvantage miles.

With monthly special awards at 7,500 miles off per roundtrip you can get to select U.S. destinations for 17,500 miles rather than 25,000. At that rate, a $425 round-trip flight from Detroit to San Francisco would get you a 2.4 cents per mile value.

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