The card offer in this post has expired so its links have been removed. Click here for the top current credit card sign up bonuses.

Do you still want to go to Europe this summer? You're not alone. That's the most popular request the MileValue Award Booking Service is getting at the moment.

While it's much easier to plan an award for summer 2014 to Europe--let's book 11 months in advance!--summer 2013 is still possible.

Do you want to know my secret weapon route?

American Airlines flies six nonstops daily from Chicago-O'Hare to London-Heathrow.

Update 3/6/14: This post is outdated. See Master Thread: Holds on United Awards

You can get a free hold of up to three days on United Airlines awards.

The Miles & More® Premier World MasterCard® comes with 20,000 bonus Lufthansa Miles & More miles after first purchase.

The card comes with an annual companion ticket for paid economy class tickets on Miles & More airlines.

The card earns 2 miles per dollar on ticket purchases made directly from Miles & More integrated airlines and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.

Miles &

Or: A Letter to a Friend's Mom

My friend's mom wants to go from Los Angeles to London in early April with her American Airlines miles. This post contains all the information she needs to understand her options.

If you view the specifics of her situation as merely an example, this post should be hugely helpful to you in you want to plan an award to Europe with your American Airlines miles.

Reader Christopher emailed me an exciting tip the other day: free oneways are possible on United awards within the continental USA and Canada. I already knew free oneways were possible on international United awards and awards to Hawaii, but this was news.

He sent me some screenshots, and I was able to replicate his findings and add some more of my own. I learned four things:

Christopher's tip: You can get a free oneway on roundtrip Standard economy awards within the US and Canada. That means three oneway Standard awards for 50k United miles.

I recently booked a family of four an economy award from Miami to Buenos Aires with their Membership Rewards. It was an interesting award that I think demonstrates the complexities and fun of booking with American Express points.

I won't talk about that award specifically, but I'll use it as a jumping off point for discussion since it illustrates a typical Memberhip Rewards situation.

This is the thirty-fifth and final post in a monthlong beginner series that started here.

You did it! You passed Miles Collecting 101. You should now have the basic tools to accrue millions of miles through credit card sign up bonuses mainly, but also online shopping, dining, flying cheap paid fares, and many other ways.

So what’s next?

Your mileage education is never complete. There’s always something more you can learn, so check back daily at this blog.

Update 3/6/14: This post is outdated. See Master Thread: Holds on United Awards

The ability to hold awards is extremely valuable especially at our increasingly popular Award Booking Service. Our clients might need to transfer their Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards into their frequent flyer accounts. They might need to purchase additional miles to reach the next award threshold or just simply firm up their hotel plans. Having a few days to hold an award is critical in these cases.

Of the four legacy carriers, American Airlines is the most generous.

A few weeks ago, Rookie Alli applied for her very first cards. Her cards were all instantly approved except the Citi® Hilton HHonors™  Reserve Card.

She really wanted the Citi® Hilton HHonors™  Reserve Card because it comes with two free weekend nights at almost any Hilton worldwide.

Or: The Whole is Less than Either of its Parts

If you take a look at the American Airlines award chart, you'll see that Honolulu to Dallas costs 22,500 miles each way in economy. And Dallas to Buenos Aires costs 30,000 miles each way in economy.

Luckily both Hawaii and South America Zone 2 (most of South America including Argentina) have some dates when you can fly in economy at a discount.

Hawaii's off peak pricing of 17,500 miles each way runs from January 12 to March 8 and August 22 to December 15.