United scared me a lot on Friday when it tweeted that changes were coming to MileagePlus.

United still hasn't told us what those changes are, but insists we'll like them.

It's very unlikely I'll like them much. It could be a minor enhancement, but there are very few things I would change about United MileagePlus that United would also change.

Swiss Business Class is one of the nicest ways to cross the Atlantic in a fully-flat bed, and it's definitely a product I'm anxious to try.

I wanted to take a look at the options to use Star Alliance miles to Australia and New Zealand during their next summer (December 2013 to March 2014.) I went overboard though and looked up the options for the next 11 months on the five direct Star Alliance routes from North America to the Antipodes:

Los Angeles to Sydney* (United, three-cabin 747)
San Francisco to Sydney* (United, three-cabin 747)
Vancouver to Sydney (Air Canada, two-cabin 777)
Los Angeles to Auckland (Air New Zealand, two-cabin 777)
San Francisco to Auckland (Air New Zealand, two-cabin 777)

*Continuing Service to Melbourne

What's the

I wanted to take a look at the options to use Star Alliance miles to Australia and New Zealand during their next summer (December 2013 to March 2014.) I went overboard though and looked up the options for the next 11 months on the five direct Star Alliance routes from North America to the Antipodes:

Los Angeles to Sydney* (United, three-cabin 747)
San Francisco to Sydney* (United, three-cabin 747)
Vancouver to Sydney (Air Canada, two-cabin 777)
Los Angeles to Auckland (Air New Zealand, two-cabin 777)
San Francisco to Auckland (Air New Zealand, two-cabin 777)

*Continuing Service to Melbourne

What's the

The US Airways Premier World MasterCard is offering me 5 miles per dollar at grocery stores, drug stores, and electronic stores for the next three months via a targeted email. Check your inbox for the same or a similar offer.

What offer did I get?

I just got the following email:

I quickly clicked the Activate button and got this message:

It seems like the US Airways Premier World MasterCard is constantly running promotions.

Update 12/17/13: The 50k mile offer is dead.

The best value destination for people who want to use their miles to travel in flying beds is Peru.

My favorite South American country is the perfect sweet spot of being far enough away for two airlines--LAN and United--to

The four legacy carriers--United, Delta, US Airways, and American--all allow stopovers on award tickets (though stopover rules vary greatly.) Adding a stopover en route is a great way to add another city to your trip and get extra value from your award.

Usually adding a stopover increases the complexity of an award, but sometimes it makes your life easier. Sometimes adding a stopover is the best way to increase your award booking options.

I'll give an example of how taking a stopover can save 27,500 US Airways miles when booking an off peak award to Europe.

United, US Airways, American, and Delta among others rely on award charts to determine the price of your award.

Yesterday I talked about the 2014 off peak space to Europe and Brazil on US Airways, and how it's an amazing way to redeem 30,000 miles for a roundtrip award to Europe or South America--which is 50% off the normal price--or 55,000 miles for a flying bed to Brazil--which is 45% off the normal price! I also explained US Airways off peak awards.