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Buffalo Travelers Have Advantages When Flying in September, Especially to Eastern Corridor Destinations

Brooklyn, NY (August 20, 2016) – Frequent travelers departing from Buffalo’s Niagara International Airport during September will find significant advantages when using flyer reward programs. In fact, RewardExpert.com reports that September averages out to be the most advantageous month for Buffalo travelers using flyer reward miles to travel to domestic cities. International travel was split between September and December as the most favorable times to book through rewards programs.

RewardExpert.com’s extensive data research finds that frequent flyer rewards programs favor travel to New York City and Washington D.C. when flying from Buffalo during September. Travelers using rewards to book flights to those cities can expect to use fewer miles – the currency used when redeeming free flights.

Southwest Airlines’ Rapid Rewards and American Airlines’ AAdvantage travel awards programs were the most cost-effective plans, according to the research. While New York and Washington are the most cost-effective domestic destinations, for Economy and Business Class alike, the most expensive destination is Honolulu. The following table supports the study’s results as compared to major domestic destinations.

Destination
Seating Class
Points Required
Program name
New York
Economy
Business
9,562
39,000
rapid
skymiles
Washington
Economy
Business
11,370
25,000
rapid
aadvantage
Orlando
Economy
Business
11,704
39,000
rapid
skymiles
Denver
Economy
Business
20,625
40,000
true
skymiles
Los Angeles
Economy
Business
17,330
40,000
rapid
aadvantage
San Francisco
Economy
Business
24,698
40,000
rapid
aadvantage
Las Vegas
Economy
Business
25,000
40,000
mileage
aadvantage
Honolulu
Economy
Business
45,698
130,000
mileage
skymiles
Miami
Economy
Business
11,745
40,000
rapid
aadvantage
Norfolk
Economy
Business
14,384
37,541
rapid
New York
Class
Points
Program
Economy
9,562
rapid
Business
39,000
skymiles
Washington
Class
Points
Program
Economy
11,370
rapid
Business
25,000
aadvantage
Orlando
Class
Points
Program
Economy
11,704
rapid
Business
39,000
skymiles
Denver
Class
Points
Program
Economy
20,625
true
Business
40,000
aadvantage
San Francisco
Class
Points
Program
Economy
24,698
rapid
Business
40,000
aadvantage
Los Angeles
Class
Points
Program
Economy
25,000
mileage
Business
40,000
aadvantage
Honolulu
Class
Points
Program
Economy
45,000
mileage
Business
130,000
skymiles
Miami
Class
Points
Program
Economy
11,745
rapid
Business
40,000
aadvantage
Norfolk
Class
Points
Program
Economy
14,384
rapid
Business
37,541
rapid

Internationally, Buffalo travelers will find that London, Paris and Rome are the best international destinations for Economy class and Rome for Business class flights. London is the best destination when compared to all international destinations for any seat, including upgrades. The best rewards program to use when booking London in economy class is United Airlines’ MileagePlus program, while business travelers are best off using Delta’s SkyMiles rewards. The most expensive rewards destination is tied between Tel Aviv and Hong Kong.

Destination
Seating Class
Points Required
Program name
Hong Kong
Economy
Business
80,000
150,000
mileage
London
Economy
Business
40,000
100,000
aadvantage
skymiles
Seoul
Economy
Business
60,000
130,000
skymiles
Tokyo
Economy
Business
70,000
130,000
mileage
Paris
Economy
Business
40,000
115,000
aadvantage
mileage
Amsterdam
Economy
Business
50,000
115,000
skymiles
mileage
Tel Aviv
Economy
Business
80,000
231,000
skymiles
Shanghai
Economy
Business
60,000
115,000
skymiles
Rome
Economy
Business
40,000
100,000
aadvantage
skymiles
Hong Kong
Class
Points
Program
Economy
80,000
mileage
Business
150,000
mileage
London
Class
Points
Program
Economy
40,000
aadvantage
Business
100,000
skymiles
Seoul
Class
Points
Program
Economy
60,000
skymiles
Business
130,000
skymiles
Tokyo
Class
Points
Program
Economy
70,000
mileage
Business
130,000
mileage
Paris
Class
Points
Program
Economy
40,000
aadvantage
Business
115,000
mileage
Amsterdam
Class
Points
Program
Economy
50,000
skymiles
Business
115,000
mileage
Tel Aviv
Class
Points
Program
Economy
80,000
skymiles
Business
231,000
skymiles
Shanghai
Class
Points
Program
Economy
60,000
skymiles
Business
115,000
skymiles
Rome
Class
Points
Program
Economy
40,000
aadvantage
Business
100,000
skymiles

RewardExpert.com also found that programs with the best domestic coverage are United Airlines’ MileagePlus and Delta’s SkyMiles, while international availability is dominated by United Airlines’ MileagePlus. MileagePlus rewards can be redeemed for travel on any combination of United Airlines, United Express carriers, as well as Star Alliance.

Most major airlines charge approximately 25,000 miles round-trip for coach class flights within the continental U.S. and Canada. Frequent flyer programs are zone-based, which means it requires the same number of miles to fly within a certain geographic region, regardless of distance or ticket price. While the amount of rewards miles may be a reasonable price to pay for a longer flight, some rewards members cringe at sacrificing so many miles for a short flight, like New York to Washington, DC, for example. Rewards members will pay less in terms of miles for short-haul flights by choosing distance-based or revenue-based frequent flyer programs to book flights.

Zone-basedZone-based
Distance-basedDistance-based
Revenue-basedRevenue-based
In depence of the type of your frequent flyer program you may need different amount of miles for
the same distance flight

When booking short or medium-haul flights, travelers should first consider airlines that base the number of miles required on distance,” says Roman Shteyn, Co-Founder at RewardExpert.com. “When booking any flight, it is worth considering programs that are revenue-based, like Southwest, JetBlue, and Virgin America, since the number of miles you pay depends on the price of the ticket. So if there’s a sale, you could save a lot of miles.”

About RewardExpert.com

Brooklyn, NY-based RewardExpert.com helps travelers maximize their frequent flier and other program rewards. RewardExpert.com helps users strategize the fastest way to earn points, the best times to travel on points and how to reap the most benefits of reward programs. Additionally, RewardExpert.com has become a resource for the best credit cards offering travel rewards and other programs to earn free fights without cost.

RewardExpert.com was co-founded by Roman Shteyn, who at 12 years old took his first flight after his parents borrowed money from a refugee aid organization to flee the collapsing Soviet Union. Shteyn later went on to earn a degree in Computer Sciences at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU. He has been nationally recognized as a consumer travel advocate and his work has been featured in local, state, and national media, including Fox Business.

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