Another Deal the Bloggers Killed: The Negative Price Oneway from the Carribean to Europe

Currently, the following United award (Newark to London, returning Paris to Newark) would cost 60k miles in economy.

Add in a stopover in Newark on the return, and a later one way trip to Jamaica and the price drops 2,500 miles to only 57,500 miles in economy!

 

Unfortunately, this deal I first wrote about last year dies in six weeks!

More People Are Seeing the Targeted 50k Mile Premier Rewards Gold Offer Through CARDMATCH

Three weeks ago, I wrote How to See if You’re Targeted for the 50k Bonus Point Sign Up on the Premier Rewards Gold Card through CARDMATCH.

The targeted sign up bonus is an extremely exciting offer because it adds a headline figure of a 50,000 point sign up bonus to the Premier Rewards Gold Card, which always has one of the best earning structures of any card:

3X points for flights booked with airlines
2X points at US gas stations and US supermarkets
1X points on other purchases
15,000 bonus Membership Rewards in any calendar year in which

How to Get More Free Stopovers and Use Fewer Miles on Your Next Trip to South America

Did you miss 20k Miles (or Less) to All of South America All Year yesterday? That post is a competing trick with this one, and it might be an even better deal for you.

Chicago to Santiago "should" cost 30,000 American Airlines miles each way in economy.

I Was Interviewed by Mighty Travels

Mighty Travels interviewed me about miles, travel, and this blog. As usual, I went on and on and on and ... ;)

My favorite question and answer:

What is your biggest learning from earning so many miles and points?

The best use of miles is often to give them away.

In 2013, I traveled nine months outside the US to 20+ countries. And yet I had more miles than I could use.

20k Miles (or Less) to All of South America All Year

Or: Save 10k Miles by Adding a Free Oneway

Summer airfare--during our summer or theirs--to Southern South America usually tops $1,000 per person in economy.

But you can get to South America this summer for only 20k American Airlines miles one way.

All the legacy carriers--Delta, United, American, and US Airways--charge 60k miles roundtrip on Saver economy awards to Southern South America, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

American and United let you go one way for half the price while US Airways and Delta charge 60k miles for one ways.

American is even more generous with

IHG Announces the Return of a Fantastic Promotion, The Big Win, for Early 2014

I almost never write about hotel promotions because they are constant and usually underwhelming except as a few extra points for business travelers who have their rooms paid for. The IHG Big Win is an exception.

IHG Rewards has announced a repeat of its current Big Win promotion for January 1 to April 30, 2014. The current Big Win has been running since September 1, 2013, and I've already earned 153,700 bonus IHG Rewards points for participating in it.

You can register for The New Big Win today to see your offers, which vary by person.

United No Longer Displays Singapore Award Space. Here’s How to Find It

Per this thread on Flyertalk, United.com no longer displays Singapore Airlines award space. This abrupt announcement might seem like terrible news to award bookers, but it's more of an inconvenience than anything else.

United.com is the easiest way to search for Star Alliance award space. It's far from a perfect booking tool, however.

Trip Report: Austrian Business Class from Vienna to Chicago

A few months ago, I flew from Oktoberfest to the Chicago Seminars. From Munich to Vienna, I flew Lufthansa business class. From Vienna to Chicago, I flew Austrian Airlines new business class product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG-Ou0vUnok

Overall I enjoyed Austrian Business Class.

Hurry: Last Chance to Get the 50k Mile Lufthansa Offer

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

Burn Delta Miles Now: Easy and Great Awards for Early 2014

Delta miles, an already low value type of miles, are being devalued further in 2014. The current award chart is only for flights flown by January 31, 2014. There is a separate chart for flights flown February 1 - May 31, 2014, and a third chart for flights flown from June 1, 2014 on.

For full details, see Delta’s Double Devaluation (Devalues its Devaluation) with No Notice.

The big changes are for business class awards.