American Airlines 999
Miami (MIA) to Buenos Aires (EZE)
Depart: 10:45 AM
Arrive: 9:40 PM
Duration: 8 hours, 55 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Seat: 1J (First Class)

My trip to Buenos Aires was booked in August for 62,500 miles and $5. It was an incredibly simple award detailed in this Anatomy of an Award.

When I got to LAX, there was a sign at Terminal 4 for Flagship Check-in.

Hey! You're reading an outdated Free First Class Next Month series. Check out the latest version published in April of 2015 here.

This is the seventeenth post in a monthlong series that started here. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete. I am writing this for an audience of people who know nothing about frequent flier miles, and my goal is that by the end, you know enough to fly for free anywhere you want to go.

Hey! You're reading an outdated Free First Class Next Month series. Check out the latest version published in April of 2015 here.

This is the eighteenth post in a monthlong series that started here. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete. I am writing this for an audience of people who know nothing about frequent flier miles, and my goal is that by the end, you know enough to fly for free anywhere you want to go.

Slate published an article called the Recline and Fall of Western Civilization in its irregular A Fine Whine column where writers complain about things as varied as Thanksgiving, lunch breaks, and royal weddings.
The woman sitting in front of me on this plane seems perfectly nice. She, like me, is traveling coach class from Washington to Los Angeles. She had a nice chat before takeoff with the man sitting next to her, in which she revealed she is an elementary school teacher, an extremely honorable profession.

This is the fourth part of a multi-post Anatomy of an Award series about American Airlines Explorer Awards, which are ideal for around-the-world trips, trips with multiple destinations, and other “trick” itineraries. Previously: The Search in Asia.

I had already gotten my client from Raleigh to four destinations in Asia. Now I had him in Seoul looking to head to the Middle East.

I knew that the way to get him there would be to fly from Seoul to a oneworld hub and then on to the Middle East.

I am giving away four American Airlines Systemwide Upgrades that expire February 28, 2013 (Thursday).

An American Airlines Systemwide Upgrade entitles you to an upgrade of one class of service on American Airlines or American Eagle operated one way itineraries if upgrade space is available.

This upgrade has tremendous value to you if you have a trip booked that meets the following conditions:

paid itinerary (not award)
operated by American Airlines or American Eagle (not partners)
with upgrade space
and the entire one way itinerary will be flown by 2/28 at 11:59 PM CT

There are two ways

In my giveaway last week of Express Passes into Australia, I mentioned that you can also enter Australia quickly if you have Global Entry. I want to give a little more information about the process because it's another reason to get Global Entry in you haven't already. See Why and How I Got Global Entry.

The process is very simple. To be able to use Australia's SmartGate entry program, you need to be 16 years or older, have Global Entry, and have a USA ePassport.

This is the third part of a multi-post Anatomy of an Award series about American Airlines Explorer Awards, which are ideal for around-the-world trips, trips with multiple destinations, and other “trick” itineraries. Previously: Planning

My client's first stop was Asia, but it didn't much matter whether the first city was Seoul, Tokyo, or Hong Kong. He had a specific summer date in mind to start his month-long trip, but he had flexibility to begin a few days later if award space required.

Barclay's issues a Virgin America Visa Signature card that I've written about before because of Virgin's incredible award chart.

For many people, the most aggravating travel fees are out-of-pocket fees charged on frequent-flyer-mile award tickets. At least that's my impression from reading the comments on this New York Times article I was quoted in. Huge government taxes and fuel surcharges can make what should be a free ticket cost hundreds of dollars per person. People were furious about paying $600 for a "free" economy ticket.

And why wouldn't they be? Most people think award miles get you a free ticket like they used to.