Update 3/6/14: This post is outdated.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.

Searching for award space can often be an exercise in frustration. The dates you want don't have availability and premium cabin seats are often scarce. There is nothing in the world, however, more frustrating than phantom availability. You think you've found your dream trip only to have the rug yanked out from under you.

We recently received a request through the Award Booking Service where this came into play. A family of four was looking to travel from New York to Johannesburg, Africa in July using their US Airways miles.

American Express Membership Rewards are valuable because of their ability to be transferred to dozens of partners. But they have a glaring weakness: they don't have a top-tier Star Alliance transfer partner--US Airways or United.

Membership Rewards can be transferred to Singapore, which is great because this is the only way to get into Singapore business or first class.

Membership Rewards can also be transferred to Aeroplan and ANA.

Hey! You're reading an outdated Free First Class Next Month series. Check out the latest version published in April of 2015 here.

This is the seventeenth post in a monthlong series that started here. 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.

For many people, the most aggravating travel fees are out-of-pocket fees charged on frequent-flyer-mile award tickets. At least that's my impression from reading the comments on this New York Times article I was quoted in. Huge government taxes and fuel surcharges can make what should be a free ticket cost hundreds of dollars per person. People were furious about paying $600 for a "free" economy ticket.

And why wouldn't they be? Most people think award miles get you a free ticket like they used to.

By now, you may be well aware of the rule that on a United oneway award, you can't take a stopover. On a roundtrip award, you get one stopover. (This is just for awards booked with United miles.

I recently booked a fascinating award that shows just how simply you can turn a good itinerary into a great itinerary using the the concept I laid out in a post titled 7,500 Miles to Europe and Negative 7,500 Miles to South America.

The basic premise is the inverse of a free oneway. If you are booking an award within the US on American Airlines, consider adding on an international leg to the domestic leg for very little extra.

My client Mark came to me with 105,000 American Airlines miles and 103,000 Ultimate Rewards.

According to this thread in the FlyerTalk Mileage Run forum, several airlines are featuring extremely low fares between the US and Istanbul, Turkey.

There appears to be solid availability in February and early March, and I'm seeing fares as low as $413! This is great news, especially for those of us who couldn't get in on the paid first class fare sale to Istanbul and Moscow last week.

LOT, a Polish airline that is a member of the Star Alliance, flies several Boeing 787 Dreamliners to North America with incredible award space in business class.

The Dreamliner is a technical marvel, a plane I am dying to get on.

LOT's business class on the Dreamliner is up to international standards--a fully flat bed with a big TV monitor at each seat.

LOT flies to three North American destinations, all with the Dreamliner.

New York (JFK) <-> Warsaw (WAW)

Chicago (ORD) <-> Warsaw

Toronto (YYZ) <->

LOT, a Polish airline that is a member of the Star Alliance, flies several Boeing 787 Dreamliners to North America with incredible award space in business class.

The Dreamliner is a technical marvel, a plane I am dying to get on.

LOT's business class on the Dreamliner is up to international standards--a fully flat bed with a big TV monitor at each seat.

LOT flies to three North American destinations, all with the Dreamliner.

New York (JFK) <-> Warsaw (WAW)

Chicago (ORD) <-> Warsaw

Toronto (YYZ) <->