What I’m Thankful For
November 26, 2015
I am taking my usual Thanksgiving hiatus until Sunday or Monday. Enjoy your time with family, friends, and great food. We will get back to travel hacking next week.
Great, Cheap Award Space to Hawaii This Dry Winter
November 25, 2015
Winter is the low season in Hawaii, and I think it is the best time to visit because:
there is more award space
lodging is cheaper
it's cold where you live but still 80 degrees in Hawaii
Normally one drawback is that it is rainier in the winter months in Hawaii, but this winter should be drier because El Niño is disrupting weather patterns in the Pacific.
I took a look at United award space from several cities in the center and east of the continental United States to the four major Hawaiian Islands.
They Got Me Again: Second Time I’ve Ever Had Something Stolen While Traveling
November 25, 2015
Update five days later: in the post, I estimated how my behavior would change. Now I have some data. For one day, I was (irrationally) afraid to walk the streets at night. That's gone.
I am still taking my new phone out a lot less on the street, usually holding it in two hands and taking a look around to make sure no one is nearby first.
I have also started to feel less bad about getting ripped off as I've walked the streets day and night and frequently been within arms' length of someone else's phone.
Discounted Domestic Delta Awards for Winter Travel: 20k Roundtrip
November 24, 2015
Delta is having a "Pre-Black Friday Award Sale" for roundtrip awards that cost 20,000 miles roundtrip:
booked by November 30, 2015
flown January 5 to February 24, 2016 excluding February 12-16 and 19
with a Saturday night stay
Delta lists "sample cities" on the sales page, but not a complete list of discounted city pairs.
I did a sample booking from Cincinnati to Las Vegas for January.
Buy Starpoints with 25% Discount. Good Deal?
November 24, 2015
Until December 31, 2015, you can up to 20,000 Starpoints with up to a 25% discount on the normal purchase price.
Starpoints are normally sold in increments of 500 points for 3.5 cents per point.
Fantastic First Class Space to Madrid and Europe for Summer 2016
November 24, 2015
American Airlines is releasing a ton of First Class award space from Miami and Dallas to Madrid for July though October, 2016.
This award space is easy to connect to from anywhere in the United States, and you can get anywhere in Europe with an Iberia flight from Madrid. These connecting flights do not add to the First Class mileage price of 62,500 American Airlines miles each way.
Icelandair Flights Now Bookable with Alaska Airlines Miles
November 23, 2015
Alaska Airlines miles can now book Icelandair flights. This is something I have hoped for since September when the partnership was announced. Here is the award chart for Icelandair flights with Alaska Airlines miles.
The good news:
You can book Icelandair flights with Alaska miles between North America and Iceland, North America and Europe, or the opposite direction.
You can book one way awards.
You can get one free stopover per one way award. You can get two per roundtrip.
You can book Medium and High economy award space, and they really aren't that expensive.
Extra 10% Bonus on LifeMiles Purchases: 1.4 Cents Each
November 22, 2015
Last week I posted that LifeMiles were being sold with a 125% bonus, bringing the price down to 1.47 cents per mile. In the past I have purchased LifeMiles when the price dipped to 1.5 cents or less because that allows for a one way ticket in Business Class to Europe for about $1,000.
If you are an InsideFlyer member (free sign up), you can get an extra 10% bonus on your purchase, bringing the price of purchasing 92,250+ miles down to 1.47 cents per mile and purchasing 237,750+ miles down to 1.40 cents each.
Six Experts Predicted the DevAAluation in February. How Did We Do?
November 22, 2015
We have all known an American Airlines award chart devaluation was coming for a long time, since United and Delta devalued in 2014.
Comparison of United, Delta, and American Airlines 2016 Award Charts
November 19, 2015
Which airlines has the best miles and frequent flyer program? United, American, and Delta are the big three legacy carriers that most directly compete with each other in the United States. For that reason, I publish charts that compare their award prices.
I have updated my charts to show the prices that United, Delta, and American Airlines will charge for awards booked March 22, 2016 or later.