Did you miss 20k Miles (or Less) to All of South America All Year yesterday? That post is a competing trick with this one, and it might be an even better deal for you.

Chicago to Santiago "should" cost 30,000 American Airlines miles each way in economy.

Or: Save 10k Miles by Adding a Free Oneway

Summer airfare--during our summer or theirs--to Southern South America usually tops $1,000 per person in economy.

But you can get to South America this summer for only 20k American Airlines miles one way.

All the legacy carriers--Delta, United, American, and US Airways--charge 60k miles roundtrip on Saver economy awards to Southern South America, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

American and United let you go one way for half the price while US Airways and Delta charge 60k miles for one ways.

American is even more generous with

Update 12/17/13: The 50k mile offer on the Lufthansa card is dead.

United and Delta have devalued their charts in the last few months, but American and US Airways, which close their merger tomorrow, have not devalued theirs recently.

I have made my own tables comparing the economy, business, and first class award prices on each of the big four US-based airlines' worst announced award chart.

For United, that is the chart for awards BOOKED February 1, 2014 and later. For Delta, that is the chart for awards FLOWN June 1, 2014 or later.

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.

I've written several posts about Explorer Awards from American Airlines. My favorites are:

American Airlines Explorer Award: The Rules
The Start of My Anatomy of an Award Series on a Real Explorer Award: Planning a RTW Trip
My Post about Getting the AA Miles Needed for a Business Round-the-World Trip

American Airlines Explorer Awards are by far the cheapest option for round-the-world awards and a great option for hopping around one part of the world with many stops.

Explorer Awards are also incredible for combining many trips onto a single award at a huge discount.

October 2013 was a big month for me. The month started in Brussels. I whirlwinded through Oslo and Amsterdam before getting to Munich in time for the end of Oktoberfest.

Munich was the last stop on my eight month world tour. I landed back in the US for the first time since February just in time for the Chicago Seminars.

The Seminars were a blast, and I had a chance to check out the Park Hyatt for two nights afterwards while exploring the city.

Late last night, United massively devalued its award chart for redemptions from February 1, 2014 on.

United has split its one award chart into two new ones: one if all segments are on United planes, the other--far more expensive in some cases--if you use partner segments.

Some First Class redemptions will increase 130k miles per person roundtrip.

Two weeks ago, in How to Save 70,000 Miles on US Airways Awards to Southeast Asia, Bill blew people's minds with his post about one of the biggest tricks you can pull with US Airways miles:

When routing from the US to South & Central Asia, you can save up to 70,000 US Airways miles by adding segments from Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean to your home airport before the main award.

The four step process is not difficult, but it is new, so there was some confusion in the comments section of that post.

The third quarter of 2013--July 1 to September 30--was a big one for me. My six months in Argentina ended, I embarked on a 15 country world tour, and I jumped off a cliff in Dubrovnik, Croatia at sunset.

The third quarter was also MileValue’s most popular quarter to date.