Latest Posts

Cheapest LifeMiles Ever, Today Only! ($900 Business Class to Europe)

Ending today (Monday November 30), Avianca LifeMiles is offering a bonus of 140% on purchased miles. You can buy up to 375,000 LifeMiles during the sale. LifeMiles cost 3.3 cents each, so with a 140%…

What I’m Thankful For

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

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…

They Got Me Again: Second Time I’ve Ever Had Something Stolen While Traveling

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…

Discounted Domestic Delta Awards for Winter Travel: 20k Roundtrip

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…

Buy Starpoints with 25% Discount. Good Deal?

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

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…

Icelandair Flights Now Bookable with Alaska Airlines Miles

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…

Extra 10% Bonus on LifeMiles Purchases: 1.4 Cents Each

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…

Six Experts Predicted the DevAAluation in February. How Did We Do?

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

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…

United Off Peak Award Sale This Winter

United has announced a 15% to 25% discount on economy class awards from the US to Europe: Roundtrip awards booked between now and December 8, 2015 for flights flown between January 11 and March 10,…

Buy LifeMiles with 125% Bonus! Good Deal?

Avianca LifeMiles is offering a bonus of up to 125% on purchased miles through December 18, 2015. You can buy up to 150,000 LifeMiles during the sale and get up to 187,500 bonus miles. LifeMiles cost…

Marriott to Buy Starwood Hotels

Marriott has announced a deal to buy Starwood Hotels. The deal still has to get shareholder and regulatory approval, so this is not a done deal, but I thought I'd offer some preliminary thoughts.…

Massive DevAAluation of American Airlines Chart March 22, 2016

American Airlines has announced a massive devAAluation of its award chart for awards booked on or after March 22, 2016. (It also announced negative changes to status and revenue-based award…

Negative Changes to 2016 American Airlines Status Announced

Today American Airlines announced mostly negative changes for earning status in 2016 for 2017. (It also announced negative changes to earning award miles on paid flights and to its award chart.) The…

American Airlines Moves to Revenue-Based Mileage Earning in Second Half of 2016

Starting in the "second half of 2016," you will earn award miles on American Airlines tickets according to the cost of the ticket instead of the distance flown. 5 miles/U.S. dollar – AAdvantage…

Aeroplan Transfer Bonus: 65k Starpoints for Business Class RT to Europe, 80k for First

Right now 40k Starpoints plus taxes will get you a roundtrip economy class trip to Europe, 65k Starpoints will get you a roundtrip Business Class ticket, and 80k will get you a roundtrip First Class…

Citi Smart Savings Program Offers Big Savings at Major Retailers

To compete with AMEX Offers, Citi has launched Citi Smart Savings, which offers discounts at major retailers when you add the offer to your account and then use your Citi card at that retailer. To…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…