Full Analysis of Current AA/SPG Transfer Bonus

Overnight, I wrote about the current Starwood/American Airlines promotion: for all of July, 20,000 Starpoints will transfer to 30,000 American Airlines miles.

I gave the facts in this post, but I was called out in the comments for not analyzing the promotion. Said DH:

"Is this offer an indication there’s an AA devaluation right around the corner? If so, is this transfer still a good idea? Starwood points are really valuable, and I doubt devalued AA miles would be anywhere close.

Why Is My American Airlines Award Pricing 25k Miles Higher Than It Should?

We just got an interesting comment on Bill's great recent post about Booking Etihad Business Class Using American Miles.

MojoMama is trying to go from Los Angeles (LAX) to the Maldives (MLE) in First Class.

The United States to the Maldives should be 90k miles each way in First Class according to American Airlines' chart. But she's getting charged 115k miles:

Trying to book LAX-JFK(stopover)-AUH-MLE in first for August, but it’s pricing at 115,000 miles. Being told AUH-MLE is separate award because it’s not in the same region, which I know is false.

Should You Focus on One Airline Program or Accrue Miles in All of Them?

Many people ask me a variety of the question: should I focus my earning on one airline program, or should I try to earn miles in all programs?

Let's divide mileage accrual into two categories:

Miles earned from flying on paid tickets. (Butt-in-seat miles)
Miles earned from other sources.