Delta was the first to sell a sub-economy cabin class titled Basic Economy in 2012. United followed suit last year, so it should be no surprise that American Airlines has also just jumped on the bandwagon. American Basic Economy fares will go on sale February 10.

As restrictions in Basic Economy vary between the three legacy carriers, today I'm going to go over what Basic Economy is for each of them, as well as how to identify a fare as Basic Economy when searching through various methods.

There's a large amount of United Business Class available from the United States to Europe for the coming summer months of July and August. We're talking up to eight seats available some days and up to four on many days. Award space flying United Business Class costs just 57,500 United miles versus the 70,000 it would cost you to fly another Star Alliance partner like Austrian or Turkish.

The United shopping portal is offering 15 miles per dollar today only (until 11:59 PM ET on 1/22/17) at a number of stores that normally offer only 2-5 miles per dollar.

I value United miles at 1.6 cents each, so getting 15 miles per dollar on your purchase is like getting 24% of your purchase rebated back in United miles (in addition to the 1x or more you're getting on your credit card purchase normally.)

Here are the 15x stores:
More information on portals from my Free First Class Next Month series:

The process for earning miles from portals

This post is part three of a series about how to maximize value when transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards to loyalty program partners. 
Maximizing Your Ultimate Rewards Series Index

Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: United MileagePlus
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #2 (this post)
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean SkyPass #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #3
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: British Airways Avios 
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Flying Blue
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Southwest Rapid Rewards
Maximizing

This post is part one of a series about how to maximize value when transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards to loyalty program partners. 
Maximizing Your Ultimate Rewards Series Index

Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: United MileagePlus (this post)
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Singapore Krisflyer #2 
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean SkyPass #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Korean Skypass #3
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: British Airways Avios 
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Flying Blue
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #1
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club #2
Maximizing Ultimate Rewards: Southwest Rapid Rewards
Maximizing

You can no longer tack on an Excursionist perk, the essentially free segment within one region that United gives you on a "roundtrip", to the end of an itinerary any more.

A few weeks ago my United flight from Houston to Buenos Aires was delayed 13 hours. United automatically offered me 7,500 miles or $100 United credit as compensation, but I was able to increase that offer to 17,500 miles or $200 credit with a simple email.
The Delay
I was heading from the Chicago Seminars to my winter home in Buenos Aires. I booked the award for 30,000 United miles the week before departure using secret United award space.

Brussels Airlines is a partner of Etihad miles, and this is the amazing award chart for roundtrip redemptions, including 36,620 Etihad miles roundtrip in Business Class between New York and Brussels, or about a quarter of the miles United would charge for the same booking:

Brussels award space in Business Class is wide open on united.com for Summer 2017 at the moment, and Etihad miles are easy to get as a 1:1 transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Points and Amex Membership rewards, so I figured some serious investigation was in order.

How to Book a Brussels Airlines Flight

Nothing cries out for a BIG trip idea like a few weeks with nowhere to be.

I'm considering going from Hawaii to Croatia from mid-February to mid-March.

Last month, I booked an award from Buenos Aires to Honolulu for 25,000 Singapore miles and about $100 in taxes. The booking illustrates a few topics:

Sweet spots and how to find them
Awards you should book speculatively
Booking awards with foreign programs

The Problem
I have to get to Hawaii for my brother's wedding in February. The main problem is that I don't know where I'll be in February to book the ticket to Hawaii.