Latest Posts
2017 Travel Goals
January 1, 2017
Greetings from Patagonia! With 2016 in the books, and my rundown of last year’s travel here, I thought I’d share my upcoming travel plans. I pretty much know exactly where I’ll be in January and half…
2016 Year in Review
December 31, 2016
2016 was a great year of travel for me, and hopefully for you too. The year started on the tarmac in Nagoya, Japan, about to take off in Thai Business Class on a Dreamliner to Bangkok. The year will…
ENDS TODAY: SPG Points 50% Off, Lowest Price Ever!
December 31, 2016
Until today (December 31, 2016), you can buy up to 30,000 Starpoints with up to a 50% discount on the normal purchase price. The discounts are targeted. To see your discount, sign into your SPG…
ENDS TODAY: Buy Alaska Miles with 40% Bonus. Should You?
December 31, 2016
Until today (December 31, 2016), you can buy Alaska Airlines miles with up to a 40% bonus. Log in to your account at this link to see your offer. The sale is structured as a bonus on the normal…
January 6 is Last Day for SPG to Virgin America Transfers
December 29, 2016
Starwood Preferred Guest and Virgin America Elevate are ending their partnership on January 6, 2017, making that the last day that you can transfer SPG points to Virgin America Points. Why does this…
Rapid Rewards,British Airways,Korean,Singapore
Miles With Free (or Almost Free) Change & Cancellation Fees
December 29, 2016
There are lots of obvious reasons why miles are better than cash, like the ability they give us to book mini palaces on planes that look like this... Etihad First Class Apartment on an A380 ...or…
New York to Norway or Sweden Only $195 Roundtrip!
December 26, 2016
Right now you can book a roundtrip in economy between New York (JFK) and Oslo or Stockholm for $195 for travel January through March, 2017. That is nuts. There are also $250 roundtrip economy fares…
United,Star Alliance,Sweetspot
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: United MileagePlus
December 26, 2016
This post is part one of a series about how to maximize value when transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards to loyalty program partners. Maximizing Your Ultimate Rewards Series Index Maximizing…
Merry Christmas Eve MileValue Readers!
December 24, 2016
Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas everyone. Scott and I toasted MileValue and the new year over steaks and malbec last night here in Buenos Aires. We hope your holiday is full of too much food, interesting…
5 Lovely Boutique Hotels in South America
December 23, 2016
For a limited time, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus is offering with 50,000 bonus Arrival miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. Arrival miles are perfect for covering cheap…
Citi ThankYou Premier 40,000 Point Sign Up Bonus Returns!
December 22, 2016
The Citi ThankYou Premier Card is once again offering 40,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Citi dropped the sign up bonus on the…
Prestige,ThankYou Points,Premier
What to Do With Leftover ThankYou Points if Canceling Prestige or Premier
December 21, 2016
Citi issues lots of cards that earn ThankYou Points, but not all of them earn a type of Thank You Point that can be transferred to airline and hotel loyalty programs partners like the Citi Prestige…
Rentler: Pay Rent on a Credit Card With 2.5% Fee
December 20, 2016
We received a tip from a reader to check out Rentler, a platform connecting landlords and tenants that (among other things) allows you to pay rent on your credit card with a 2.5% processing fee. You…
Alaska Airlines and Delta End Partnership Effective May 1, 2017
December 19, 2016
Delta and Alaska Airlines are ending their partnership May 1, 2017. There will be no more codeshares, no more mileage earning on each other's flights, no more reciprocal elite benefits, and no more…
1 Virgin America Point = 1.3 Alaska Miles, 1 SPG = 1.625 Alaska
December 19, 2016
Virgin America and Alaska Airlines have merged. Starting January 9, 2017, you can link your Alaska Mileage Plan and Virgin America Elevate accounts. Then you can transfer 1 Virgin America points to…
Change to United Free One Way Rules
December 19, 2016
You can no longer tack on an Excursionist perk, the essentially free segment within one region that United gives you on a "roundtrip", to the end of an itinerary any more.
My Disappointing Trip to the Lufthansa First Class Terminal
December 18, 2016
Update 1/1/17: I've added a video of the ground experience to the end of this post Recently I flew from Croatia to the United States in Lufthansa First Class for 40,000 Starpoints + $300. Here’s how…
I’ve Had My Arrival Plus For Almost a Year. Now What?
December 17, 2016
I already knew the answer to that question before I called Barclaycard last week. But I decided to call anyways for the sake of curiosity, and to possibly help out someone else that may be in the…
Seven North American Cities to Ireland for 13k Miles Most of Year
December 16, 2016
Bad news, good news: The bad news is that the year-round 12,500 Avios award from Boston to Dublin or Shannon, Ireland on Aer Lingus is dead. The good news is that those awards from Boston as well as…
Trip Report: Maraú Peninsula (Taipú do Fora & Barra Grande)
December 15, 2016
I spent the previous two weeks in the Bahia state of Brazil, an incredible region rich in Brazilian culture lined with endless beautiful beaches. The first week I stayed in Itacaré, a small fishing…
Delta Flash Sale Thru Tomorrow Only: 49k Miles Roundtrip to Asia
December 13, 2016
Delta is running a flash sale on awards booked by December 14, 2016 (tomorrow night) and flown from January 10 through March 3, 2017, between the United States and Asia. If you book by 11:59 PMET…
Trip Report: Itacaré, Brazil
December 13, 2016
I spent the past two weeks in the Bahia state of Brazil, an incredible region rich in Brazilian culture lined with endless beautiful beaches. The first week I stayed in Itacaré, a small fishing and…
You Can Now Redeem Alaska Miles on Japan Airlines (For Cheap!)
December 11, 2016
Alaska Airlines partnered up with Japan Airlines (JAL) back in May of this year. Just last week Alaska published their prices for redeeming Alaska miles on JAL flights between the continental United…
Should You Buy LifeMiles with a 125% Bonus?
December 9, 2016
Avianca LifeMiles is offering a bonus of up to 125% on purchased miles through December 20, 2016. You can buy up to 150,000 LifeMiles during the sale and get up to 187,500 bonus miles. LifeMiles cost…
United Compensation for a Delayed Flight
December 8, 2016
A few weeks ago my United flight from Houston to Buenos Aires was delayed 13 hours. United automatically offered me 7,500 miles or $100 United credit as compensation, but I was able to increase that…