US Airways Premier World MasterCard with 40,000 bonus miles after first purchase to book these Star Alliance and oneworld partners

Earn 40,000 bonus miles after your first purchase and payment of the $89 annual fee*
First checked bag FREE on eligible bags for you and up to four companions on domestic US Airways operated flights
One companion certificate good for up to 2 guests to travel with you on a US Airways

Alaska Airlines flies a direct flight between Anchorage and Honolulu.

I love interesting routes from Hawaii--like the Island Hopper across the Pacific--since moving to Oahu, but I think this route has some cool possibilities for everyone, like one vacation that combines Alaska and Hawaii this summer.

Anchorage and Honolulu are 2,777 miles apart. This is a sweet spot on British Airways' distance-based award chart.

Frontier Airlines is a Denver-based airline with flights throughout the continental US, Alaska, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic.

Right now The Frontier Airlines World MasterCard® is offering 40,000 bonus miles after spending only $500 in the first 90 days.

That's a huge sign up bonus for such a tiny minimum spending requirement. Making it even better is the fact that Frontier charges only 10k miles each way for a Standard award within the United States including Alaska.

I write a lot about the Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard® and very little about the Capital One Venture Card.

Superficially the two cards are similar. Both offer miles that can be redeemed for any flight, hotel, car rental, or other travel expense.

Plus the Venture Card has had a sustained TV advertisement blitz for several years that seems to have gotten through to most people. So a lot of people assume the two cards are identical or just as good as each other.

Per the email I received last week, US Airways is again offering up to a 100% bonus on purchased or gifted miles. This "Mystery Bonus" promotion is a slight variant from previous iterations, as the bonus you receive varies by individual frequent flyer account. You might receive a 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% bonus on purchased and gifted miles.

US Airways frequently runs promotions offering bonuses to buy its miles, including one in December of last year. The deal is hardly a new proposition, especially if you receive an inferior 25%-75% offer like I did.

A generous attendee of the MileValue meetup in New York City donated a pair of United Club passes that expire March 31, 2014 to one MileValue reader.

Update 4/14/14: US Airways has increased the price of its awards to North Asia in business class to 110k miles roundtrip.

In December, I compiled Comparison Tables of United, Delta, US Airways, and American Airlines Award Charts to show which program had the cheapest awards in each cabin to every country you want to visit.

With Delta announcing a new award chart that takes effect for awards booked January 1, 2015, I have updated the tables for economy and business class.

There are a few ways to use these charts.

Figure out which miles to earn for your next big

Delta has released its award chart for awards booked on or after January 1, 2015. Check it out here.

Great News: The lowest priced "Level 1" awards (formerly "Saver") will remain at the same price or drop compared to the award chart that goes into effect on June 1, 2014.

SkyMiles have seen a lot of changes the last few months:

First Delta announced a devaluation of its award chart for awards flown June 2014 or later.

Avianca/TACA LifeMiles, a member of the Star Alliance, is offering a 100% bonus on miles transferred between accounts through March 17, 2014.

During the promotion, the cost to transfer each mile is 1.5 cents. For every mile taken out of your account, the transferee receives 2 miles.

Example:

I pay $150 to transfer 10k miles to my friend.
My account loses 10k miles.

When you get deeper into the world of opening rewards cards to get free or luxury travel, there is an inevitable amount of bookkeeping that comes with managing your credit cards.

You have to track:

when you opened each card
when the annual fee is due on each card
how much you've spent toward the minimum spending requirement associated with the sign up bonus
when each statement closes
when payments are due on each card
category bonuses

While that looks like a lot to track, and may seem daunting, I estimate that I spend about 30 minutes per month on