Killing Deals is Good

Here is my response to the people who think I shouldn't have shared the deal in $200 Flight to Japan with Hidden City Ticketing on LifeMiles Awards:

All deals in the miles world die. If an airline, hotel, or bank offers outsized value in some way such that it thinks it is losing money, it will discontinue the deal.

The question is what responsibility folks who know a deal have to keep that deal secret to prolong its life.

My basic moral philosophy is broadly utilitarian.

TACA/Avianca LifeMiles 2 x 1 Sale Means 1.5 Cent Miles

TACA/Avianca LifeMiles are being sold for 1.5 cents until December 30, 2013. The normal price is 3 cents per mile, but LifeMiles is running one of its frequent 2 x 1 sales.

Your LifeMiles account must have already been open on December 3, 2013 to enjoy this promotion.

Cyber Monday Airfare and Hotel Deals

Cyber Monday is the Black Friday of online shopping. Many airlines and hotels are participating with discounted airfare and hotel stays if you book today.

Best of MileValue November 2014

November 2013 was a relaxing month for me. I traded in airplanes for bicycles and hostels for my own bed. For the first time all year, I spent an entire month inside the US.

November was a huge month for the miles world. United started the month by massively devaluing its award chart for awards booked February 1, 2014 or later. Then Delta sped up its previous devaluation with no notice.

While the loyalty programs disappointed us, the incredible rewards card offers kept coming.

Happy Thanksgiving from MileValue

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from MileValue!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year, and only partly because it's the only day when I consume two heaping plates of some of my absolute favorite foods, pass out for a few hours while my body digests, and then wake up just in time to see the fourth quarter of a football game.

Mainly I love to share the time with family and friends and count my blessings. Before eating, we all go around the table and share what we're thankful for.

Incredible Trick: Flying Blue Promo Awards with No Fuel Surcharges

A few weeks ago, I discussed Flying Blue Promo Awards at length.

Flying Blue is the loyalty program of Air France and KLM, the Dutch flag carrier.
Every few months, a rotating list of discounted awards are released that can allow you to get from cities in the US to anywhere in Europe for only 25k miles + taxes + small surcharges roundtrip.
Business class awards to Europe are as low as 62,500 miles roundtrip, though fuel surcharges are substantially more.
See the full story on Flying Blue Promo Awards in How to Get to Europe for 25k Points

Get a $10 Statement Credit on Each of Your American Express Cards During Small Business Saturday

Register all your American Express credit and charge cards today, spend $10 on each one this Saturday November 30 at a small business, and receive a $10 statement credit on each card.

This is the easiest win-win-win promotion of the year.

How to See if You’re Targeted for the 50k Bonus Point Sign Up on the Premier Rewards Gold Card through CARDMATCH

Multiple sources are reporting that CARDMATCH has an offer for the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express that comes with 50,000 bonus Membership Rewards after spending $1,000 in the first three months and has the annual fee waived for the first year.

Free Giveaway: Five American and United Lounge Passes

Update: The giveaway is closed. Congrats to the winners of all 7 passes. (Two more were generously donated in the comments.)

Generous reader Sam has donated five lounge passes that expire in the next few months for me to give away to three lucky readers.

60 Miles per Dollar at magazines.com: How to Buy American Airlines Miles for 1.43 Cents or Less Until 11/30/13

Huge Hat Tip to reader Daniel for emailing me about this deal. Email me your tips!

Today the AAdvantage eShopping portal tripled the earning rate on magazines.com to 60 American Airlines miles per dollar through November 30, 2013.

Stacked with the ongoing promotion that is awarding up to 2,500 miles for $250 in purchases through the portal (and fewer bonus miles for smaller purchases), you can buy up to 17,500 American Airlines miles for 1.43 cents each until the magazines.com promotion ends. And you even get some magazines thrown in for free.