Can One Person Earn Enough Miles for Two?

Earning free travel through credit card rewards points takes careful planning and record-keeping. It’s enough work on your own, but what if your travel companion is unable or unwilling to earn enough rewards to travel with you? Do you have to leave your loved one behind? 

Earning enough points to cover the costs of travel for multiple people isn’t as hard as you might think. However, it might not be necessary.

Does Upgrading Your Amex Use Up Your Once-Per-Lifetime Bonus?

American Express is known for having a few restrictions when it comes to applying for their credit cards.

One is that you are limited to holding four to five American Express credit cards. Both personal and business count toward this limit. (AMEX Everyday, Delta, and SPG are credit cards.) Separately, you are limited to holding four to five American Express charge cards. Both personal and business count toward this limit.

Don’t Make This Mistake with Your Priority Pass Membership

The Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Citi Prestige, and all American Express Platinum cards offer free Priority Pass Select membership, emphasis on "Select."

Last month I got this email from a vexed reader:
So here is my experience with the highly touted Chase SAPPHIRE Reserve card and its Select Priority Pass allegedly good for getting into 500+ airport lounges.

Newark Airport, Oct. 13, 2016, flying United Airlines Newark to Geneva: "Sorry, don't take the Priority Pass card in THIS (United) lounge.

When Do Arrival Miles Expire?

Arrival miles never expire as long as you hold your Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard®. They do disappear the second you cancel the card though.

Other than canceling the card, the only time constraint on using Arrival miles is that you have 120 days after any travel purchase to redeem miles for an offsetting statement credit.

Will You Find Last Minute Award Space? Here’s How to Estimate Your Chances.

I received the following email from a reader.

Dawn writes:
I wanted to ask a question that I didn't see an answer for on your site or clearly on the interwebs.
I am hoping to do a trip this winter to India.

BA.com’s Secret Airports

MG asks:
I’m not too well-versed with AA miles, but I have about 100k. I really want to use them for off-peak to either Chile or Argentina and somehow use them to get down to either country’s Patagonia region. Where do you recommend searching for LAN and TAM to get to Patagonia… the airport codes don’t seem to show up on BA.com???
 

If you search ba.com for award space, which you should do a lot when trying to redeem American Airlines miles, you will notice some missing airports.

Answered: All Your Questions about the Citi Prestige

 

You can check out the updated version of this post here.

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I get a lot of questions about the Citi Prestige® Card because it is an awesome and complicated card.

The Citi Prestige® Card is one of the best cards on the market now with:

50,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $3,000 in purchases made with your card in the first 3 months the account is open
$250 in airfare or airline fee credits per calendar year
access to the American Airlines Admirals Clubs and Priority Pass lounges
the fourth night free on hotel stays
three free

Which Programs Have One Ways, Stopovers, Fuel Surcharges

Longtime reader Eddy emailed me:
Do you know of someplace that has the rules of the various frequent flyer programs? I'm looking at trip to China next Spring and there are so many options, so I’d like to know for each program: (1) allow one ways? (2) permit stop overs? (3) charge for fuel? Any idea if this info is collected in one place anywhere?

All the Routes from West Coast to Europe with Flat Bed Business

Commenter RH Dailey asked me for a list of direct flights from the west coast to Europe and to let him know which ones have flat beds in Business Class.

There are direct flights from five west coast cities plus Vancouver and Las Vegas to Europe.

These flights are operated by all the major transatlantic players and by some airlines that perhaps you've never heard of.

For each North American city, I've listed the European cities served and by which carriers.

There Is No Transitive Property of Miles

Let me clear up one of the most common types of questions I get from beginners.

There is no transitive property of miles.

Just because Airline A partners with Airline B and Airline B partners with Airline C does NOT mean Airlines A and C are partners.

For instance, in yesterday's post Fully Flat Business Class to Europe for 25,000 Miles, I wrote:
I searched award space on Aer Lingus' routes from Chicago, Boston, and New York to Dublin for one passenger next April through July.

I searched on united.com.