Virgin America and Alaska Airlines have merged.

Starting January 9, 2017, you can link your Alaska Mileage Plan and Virgin America Elevate accounts. Then you can transfer 1 Virgin America points to 1.3 Alaska miles.

That is almost exactly the fair ratio in my opinion.

Delta has devalued its miles with no notice (again), but this time is even worse than prior instances. While Delta's never announced an award price change, they at least have increased the prices for travel a few months in advance. For example, at the end of this past August, Delta increased the price of a Business Class award to Europe from 62,500 miles to 70,000 miles for travel beginning January 1, 2017 and on.

This time, there's no buffer period whatsoever.

Through September 30th, 2016, sign up to receive emails from Virgin Hotels and Virgin Sport and earn 500 Virgin America points for each.

Sign up for Virgin Hotels promotional emails here
Sign up for Virgin Sport promotional emails here

These aren’t huge miles, but they are easy to get, since signing up will take no time and is free.

Considering I value Virgin America Elevate miles more than any other mile at 2.3 cents each, signing up for both of these emails is a no brainer.

Figuring out the value of your frequent flier miles is crucial for determining whether an award is a good deal, whether you should book a specific trip with cash or miles, which credit card bonus to sign up for, and which airlines to book an award on if you have several options. Perhaps because it can seem daunting to precisely calculate the value of a mile, I had seen no systematic attempts to do so mathematically when I first started writing this blog.

I am re-publishing this post as a reminder that as of October 1, 2016, Delta Skymiles prices for Business Class awards between North American and Australia, Asia, Africa, and South America are becoming more expensive. Economy awards between the United States and South Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and the Middle East are getting cheaper however. 

If you have been saving your Skymiles for a Business Class award to any of those areas, consider booking so your trip is completed before October 1.

Through August 15, 2016 at 11:59 CT, United is offering a 100% bonus on purchased miles. The size of the bonus depends on the number of miles you buy, with the largest 100% bonus kicking in at 40,000 miles purchased.

United miles normally cost 3.5 cents per mile plus a 7.5% tax, bringing the full price to 3.76 cents each.

American Airlines is offering up to 100,000 bonus miles and 10% off on the purchase of miles through July 8, 2016. You can now buy 250,000 American Airlines miles including bonus for $4,311 or 1.72 cents each. That's the cheapest I've ever seen American Airlines miles for sale.

The discount is fixed, but the bonus miles are tiered, based on how many miles you purchase. The best deal is to buy 150,000.

American Airlines miles cost 2.95 cents each plus a 7.5% excise tax, and every purchase has a $30 processing fee.

Through Friday (May 27, 2016) at 11:59 CT, United is offering a 100% bonus on purchased miles. The size of the bonus depends on the number of miles you buy, with the largest 100% bonus kicking in at 40,000 miles purchased.

United miles normally cost 3.5 cents per mile plus a 7.5% tax, bringing the full price to 3.76 cents each.

This is the twenty-third 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.

American Airlines is offering up to 15,000 bonus miles and 35% off on the purchase of miles through June 1, 2016. You can now buy 165,000 American Airlines miles including bonus for $3,122 or 1.89 cents each.

The discount is fixed, but the bonus miles are tiered, based on how many miles you purchase.