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

The New York Times just ran a really bad article about Delta's move to a revenue-based frequent flyer program in 2015.

I'm going to delve into the Times article since many MileValue readers discovered the blog from a New York Times article ("How to Get a Seat Out of Your Award Miles") in which I was quoted extensively.

Look how easy it is to get a family of four to Europe this summer!

For only 240k United miles total, there are ample options from the United States to many places in Europe. If 240k United miles sounds like a lot, it really isn't.

I've had the good fortune to travel to 44 countries on six continents, many in the last two years since starting the blog.

Create your own travel map - TravBuddy

I rarely write about my trips because I'm better at writing about how you can earn and redeem frequent flyer miles for your dream trips.

I received a great TACA/Avianca LifeMiles credit card offer in my email inbox late last week. The LifeMiles Visa Signature card is offering 40,000 LifeMiles after spending $3k in the first 90 days.

20k miles are awarded after making your first purchase and you receive an additional 20k miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months of card membership.

Reader Eli has generously donated two Admirals Club passes that expire March 31, 2014 to one lucky reader.

American Airlines operates Admirals Clubs in these locations. My favorite is at Honolulu International Airport, overlooking the garden, and stocked with slightly better food than usual since Japan Airlines uses the lounge for its premium passengers.

There are two ways to enter the drawing. On Sunday at 11:59 PM PT, I will select one winner.

Note that this post was almost posted yesterday before news broke that Delta is moving to a revenue-based frequent flyer program--at least on the earning side. This post discusses flying before Delta's June 1 devaluation to its award chart, but can also be read as a general plea to burn Delta miles before January 1, 2015 when more changes are coming.

Delta's upcoming June 1 devaluation is a little different than United's was.