United announced a massive devaluation of its miles on October 31, 2013 to take effect for awards booked February 1, 2014 or later.

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

Miles make keeping a New Year's resolution related to travel very easy. The key is to come up with a strategy that you execute almost automatically and to start today.

If you come up with the right plan, then in a few months, you can take a dream vacation anywhere in the world at a price you can afford.

Set the right goal. What does the purpose of frequent flyer miles say about when and where you should use them to go?
Identify the right miles and get the right rewards card.

While other airlines search engines regress in functionality (looking in your direction, Delta), British Airways' award tool continues to improve. While researching for another article, I came across the slightly modified ba.com and noted a subtle consumer-friendly change.

Though the change is minor, British Airways has exhibited a recent history of positive improvements to their search tool.

Countries Visited (21)
In chronological order (except for the US, which would be third chronologically):

Australia (11 days)
New Zealand (10 days)
Argentina (5.5 months)
Paraguay (8 days)
Uruguay (3 days)
South Africa (9 days)
Germany (7 days)
United Kingdom (2 days)
Sweden (2 days)
France (4 days)
Malaysia (8 days)
Thailand (7 days)
Austria (2 days)
Slovakia (2 days)
Hungary (4 days)
Croatia (3 days)
Italy (1 day)
Belgium (1 day)
Norway (1 day)
Netherlands (1 day)
United States (3.5 months)

Premium Airline Cabins Flown (12)
In chronological order (with links to trip reports):

United Global First
Emirates First

2013 was a year of several major devaluation announcements including:

United (kicks in February 1, 2014)
Southwest (kicks in March 31, 2014)
Delta (already kicked in on current award bookings for travel that starts February 1, 2014 or later)
Hyatt (kicks in January 7, 2014)
Ultimate Rewards (with three major transfer partners devaluing--United, Southwest, and Hyatt--the program took a major hit through no fault of its own)

But the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Qatar Airways has fantastic Business Class award space on its Dreamliner and on its routes from the US to Doha and beyond in 2014.

You can currently buy Avios for 1.37 cents each through a miles-transfer promotion.

Merry Christmas from everyone at MileValue to you and your family.

Christmas 2008, the View from the Conrad in Punta del Este, Uruguay

There will be no new posts the rest of the week. Check out some of these classics if you can't take a few days off from thinking about miles!

Negative Price Oneways to the Caribbean (Dies in One Month!)
My Favorite Hotel Promo of 2013 Will Return in 2014.

With Christmas tomorrow, I'll get on my soapbox for a second: Give experiences not things.

Having lived happily for much of 2013 with very few things--two carry on sized bags full to be exact--I can confirm what many more have said before me: things don't bring happiness.

If you're celebrating Christmas, what should you give your loved ones tomorrow?