Two Tricks When United.com Isn’t Working
December 22, 2014
United.com is convenient to use, but doesn't work very well.
I ran a simple search the other day, and got a different problem with a different solution for the outbound and the return.
The Plan
I was just running a search from Chicago to Sydney roundtrip.
Book Tickets from Fake Location to Save Money
December 17, 2014
A friend passed along an article from Time.com that advocates doing something I've done a few times, but not described:
You can often get a cheaper price on a cash ticket if you book the ticket in foreign currency through airline's website designed for use by people in another country.
Power Point Slides from Chicago Seminars about Trick Awards
December 12, 2014
I gave a well-received presentation on Trick Awards at the Chicago Seminars in October.
The presentation dealt with free one ways, negative price one ways, open jaws, stopovers, avoiding fuel surcharges, and award chart SUPER sweet spots.
Enjoy!
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United,Trick,Award Booking,Anatomy of an Award
Two Tricks I Used on My Last Award Booking
November 18, 2014
As you read this, I'm 35,000 feet up on my way to Medellin, Colombia.
I was in Tucson over the weekend for a tennis tournament, and I didn't have any exit flight booked. I really wanted to return to Colombia because I had enjoyed Bogota so much and heard even better things about Medellin, but award space didn't appear to be available for a Monday departure from Tucson to Medellin.
I used two tricks and a little bit of creativity to come up with a Saver award, save myself $75 in fees, and give myself a chance to hang
Get Virgin Australia Status and Miles by Flying Delta Award Ticket?
October 22, 2014
I met the author of Don't Call the Airline (great blog name, right?), a Canadian frequent flyer miles blog, at the Chicago Seminars.
He came up to me and told me about how he had earned 20,000+ Virgin Australia Velocity miles and status by flying a Delta AWARD ticket.
What did DCTA do to "earn" the miles?
Is the process repeatable?
Trick
After booking his roundtrip in Virgin Australia Business Class with Delta miles, DCTA added his Virgin Australia Velocity number to the award ticket.
Virgin Australia mistakenly credited him for a full Business Class paid ticket, some 22
Five Tips I Shared at the MileValue Dinner
September 23, 2014
On Sunday, I hosted a MileValue dinner in Los Angeles. Unfortunately there was a "Korean Agriculture & Marine Product Expo" across the street, which severely limited parking and caused some people to miss the dinner.
I'll share five tips I gave to attendees. I wouldn't classify any as secrets, but most of them were unknown to people who, in some cases, have redeemed hundreds of thousands of miles, so the tips might be pretty useful for your next award booking.
1.
Travel Style,Trip Report,Trick,United
How to Get Your Own Row in United Economy
September 9, 2014
A few days ago I flew from Honolulu to Guam in United economy and got myself five seats in a row, so I could sleep during the flight.
Even at 6'4", I only needed four consecutive seats for sleep. I raised the arm rests, collected a few pillows and blankets, and had some great sleep for a few hours after take off.
Reminder: You Can Still Book United Awards at Pre-Devaluation Prices
August 27, 2014
You can still pay United's award prices from January 2014 and before for premium cabin awards.
The catch is that you need to be changing an existing award that you booked February 2, 2014 or earlier.
My Second Best Travel Tip (Don’t Get Lost Abroad)
April 10, 2014
I actually haven't ranked my travel tips, but I love this one because it's super simple and saves me from getting lost all around the world.
But it's not my #1 travel tip, which would probably be "use miles" or "travel more" or "travel solo" or something like that.
It may not even be my #2 travel tip because you can save a lot of money with these two:
How I Pay Zero ATM Fees Worldwide
How to Get Free Texts and Cell Phone Data (Almost) Worldwide
Anyway, here's how I avoid getting lost worldwide when I don't have cell