Hey there, you're reading an outdated post! The updated series from April 2015 can be found here.

This is the twenty-fifth post in a monthlong series. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete.

Hey there, you're reading an outdated post! The updated series from April 2015 can be found here.

This is the twenty-fourth post in a monthlong series. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete. I am writing this for an audience of people who know nothing about frequent flier miles, and my goal is that by the end, you know enough to fly for free anywhere you want to go.

This post presents the basics of using aa.com for award bookings.

Qantas and Emirates have announced a joint venture. (Story in audio or text format.)

My first thought was: "If they merge, can I now use my AA miles on an Emirates A380 in First Class?"

First things first: this is not a merger, just a joint venture. And Emirates has reiterated it has no interest in joining an alliance.

The loyalty programs of Qantas and Emirates are merging.

Hey there, you're reading an outdated post! The updated series from April 2015 can be found here.

This is the twenty-second post in a monthlong series. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete.

This is a blog about frequent flier miles. Almost everything I write is designed to help you accumulate miles and points efficiently then redeem them for free travel--up front if possible.

But sometimes using points for a ticket is a huge mistake. Sometimes, just book with cash. JBWC. I'll give two examples, and I'll tell you how to figure out whether you should book with cash or miles on a particular trip.

LAX to Honolulu

The first example comes from yesterday.

This is another post in my Anatomy of an Award series, in which I take a real award I’ve booked and break it down step-by-step to elucidate the award booking process.

Sometimes airlines have seemingly interminable hold times before you can talk to an agent. This mainly happens during disruptions to the normal routine like a big storm that is causing a ton of rebookings or the United/Continental merger.

Here are some tricks to lower or eliminate your hold times:

1) Call the highest tier elite line. Elite lines are answered immediately or with a much reduced wait time.

If you're a top-tier elite, I'm sure you're already doing this.

Yesterday I talked about some great sweet spots on the US Airways chart for awards originating in South America. Maybe you thought that post was irrelevant for Americans.

But Americans can still get half the value of these sweet-spot awards by using open jaw itineraries.

US Airways sweet-spot awards can have tremendous value for Americans if they're employed as part of something I'll call a triangle award.

A triangle award is using three or more oneway itineraries to create a journey that includes two or more destinations.

A few weeks ago I got this letter in the mail:

Always read your junk mail from credit card companies!

My offer is 3x American Airlines miles on purchases at supermarkets, restaurants, pharmacies, and gas stations up to a maximum of 2,500 bonus miles. Since I would normally earn 1x at those places on this card, I take it to mean that I get my first $1,250 at 3x miles.

I went to the website, typed in my "Invitation Number" and received confirmation I was registered.

Hey there, you're reading an outdated post! The updated series from April 2015 can be found here.