Yesterday's post about the Coolest Thing to Do with 130k and 280k American Airlines Miles got me to look at the American Airlines' chart again for value. I found what I think are the Five Best Values in premium cabins.

These values combine low miles, low taxes and fees, and the very best products from among American's partners.

A few weeks ago, I shared my thoughts on The Coolest Thing You Can Do with 57.5k United Miles and 10k Avios, which arose from daydreaming about booking myself more award trips.

The last few days I've worked myself into a frenzy planning an incredible-value American Airlines Explorer Award around the world in business class for 130k American Airlines miles and the most opulent Explorer Award possible for 280k miles.

American Airlines Explorer Awards have a distance-based award chart that uses American Airlines miles to fly two or more of American's oneworld partners.

I am giving away a pair of United Club passes that I received by opening a United MileagePlus Explorer Card.

United has lounges all over the world. The clubs are a pleasant place to relax in a comfortable chair, use free wifi, and enjoy free snack and drinks. Here are the amenities.

Comment below for a chance to win the passes. Include your real email address while commenting, so I can contact the winner.

Disclaimer: I use the word "upgrade" a few times in the post. I am not referring to buying a cash ticket in economy and trying to use miles or cash to get it into business class. I am referring to using miles to change an award from economy to business. The first type of upgrade is almost universally a bad deal. The second type is a fine deal.

United has a litany of award fees. Booking by phone is $25. Cancelling is $150.

Two months ago, thexfactor emailed me to tell me that he'd booked something online at aa.com that was against one of the rules I laid out in The Five Cardinal Rules of American Airlines Awards.

His discovery greatly increases where you can take a free oneway when booking American Airlines awards online.

The Miles & More® Premier World MasterCard® comes with 20,000 bonus Lufthansa Miles & More miles after first purchase.

The card comes with an annual companion ticket for paid economy class tickets on Miles & More airlines.

The card earns 2 miles per dollar on ticket purchases made directly from Miles & More integrated airlines and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.

Miles &

Or: A Letter to a Friend's Mom

My friend's mom wants to go from Los Angeles to London in early April with her American Airlines miles. This post contains all the information she needs to understand her options.

If you view the specifics of her situation as merely an example, this post should be hugely helpful to you in you want to plan an award to Europe with your American Airlines miles.

Read Part 1 First.

In Part 2: Ruta de Siete Lagos, beer tour, and more

Day 3—Sunday

Sunday began with a hike to the top of Cerro Campanario, a spot with absolutely stunning views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. You can take Bus 20 from the center of town and have them drop you off at Kilometer 17 on Avenue Exequiel Bustillo. From the road, it is a 40 minute hike up a relatively steep incline.

The cards mentioned in this post have had their links removed because the offers listed have expired. Click here for the top current credit card sign up bonuses.

The 50k mile bonus offer is back on the Lufthansa card mentioned in this post until 6/30/14.

San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina is a mountain town in the Lake District of Patagoina, located about 50km from the Chilean border. It sits right on the edge of the Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, drawing visitors from all over to admire the spectacular lake and mountain views.

 Scott and I recently decided to use Avios to fly LAN from Buenos Aires to Bariloche for five days. The southern hemisphere has just entered fall. In Patagonia, that means cold weather quickly.