Should You Start with 100,000 American Airlines Miles or 90,000 ThankYou Points

Right now you can easily get 100,000 American Airlines miles or 90,000 ThankYou Points, so which is the better place to start?

How to Get 100,000 American Airlines Miles

Some credit card offers in this post have expired, but they might come back.

60 Free Award Wallet Upgrade Codes

Enjoy one of these 60 free upgrade codes to six months of Award Wallet Plus. Award Wallet is the free way I track my 33 miles and points balances and store my login information for those programs.

Read more about Award Wallet.
Sign up for Award Wallet.

Here are the extra features of Award Wallet Plus:

These Award Wallet code giveaways sometimes get complaints. Unfortunately I don’t think there is any way to improve them. The simple reality is that I have a lot more than 60 readers. No need to leave a comment if you use one.

Trip Report: AeroMexico 787 Dreamliner Business Class from Buenos Aires to Mexico City

AeroMexico 29
Buenos Aires (EZE) – Mexico City (MEX)
Depart: 11:30 PM on Wednesday October 14, 2015
Arrive: 7:15 AM on Thursday, October 15, 2015
Duration: 9:45
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Seat: 3F and 4F (Business Class)

I headed to the gate while boarding was underway, but AeroMexico has a dedicated line for Business Class, so I was able to breeze past the line and onto the plane.

I wasn't greeted at the door, and I found my own way to my seat.

Japan Airlines Last Minute Award Space Revisited

A few months ago I was lauding American Airlines award space to Asia because partners Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines were releasing tons of award space in Business and First Class at the last minute. Yesterday I checked in on Cathay Pacific award space and found it greatly diminished at the last minute (though not non-existent.)

Today let's check in on Japan Airlines premium award space at the last minute.
Award Prices
American Airlines awards to Asia are way under-priced compared to United and Delta awards.

Very Good Flat Bed Space to Europe on Three New Routes

Airberlin is adding three new routes to its Dusseldorf hub starting next Spring. All three routes currently have very good award space for two passengers during Summer 2016 in flat bed Business Class.

Very Good Flat Bed Space to Europe on Three New Routes

Airberlin is adding three new routes to its Dusseldorf hub starting next Spring. All three routes currently have very good award space for two passengers during Summer 2016 in flat bed Business Class.

Award Space to New Zealand Will Be Much Better in 2016

Right now, Air New Zealand has a monopoly on direct flights between the United States and New Zealand with flights between Auckland and Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu. It adds an Auckland to Houston flight on December 15, 2015.

The good thing about booking Air New Zealand award space is that you have access to the whole country through connections instead of just Auckland.

50k Bonus Miles on CitiBusiness AAdvantage Card

Some credit card offers in this post have expired, but they might come back.

Cathay Pacific Last Minute First Class Award Space is Far Worse than Usual

Cathay Pacific First Class is one of the nicest in the world.

The service is amazingly attentive, including a hand-written note to go with your meal.

The food is amazing and completely made to your specifications like when I asked for every breakfast side and nothing else on one plate.

The bed is my favorite in the air for how much longer and wider it is than most flying beds.

Not only is Cathay Pacific First Class great, but historically it has been very easy and cheap to book with American Airlines miles.

American Airlines charges only 67,500 miles

Alaska Miles as Cheap as 1.97 Cents

Alaska Airlines' newest miles sale offers miles as cheap as 1.97 cents each, which means Emirates First Class from the United States to Dubai for around $1,800 (or anywhere else in the world for around $2,000) or Cathay Pacific First and Business Class from the United States to Hong Kong and Johannesburg for around $1,400.

Emirates First Class

Until December 23, 2015, Alaska is offering an instant mystery bonus on miles purchases of 35% to 50% more miles.