You can take way-out-of-your-way stopovers on United awards that cause you to massively backtrack and add tons of increased flying to awards.

For instance, you can fly from New York to London via Los Angeles for no extra miles even though routing through Los Angeles is about two-and-a-half-times more flying than flying a direct flight.

This laxity toward massive backtracking has some great uses.

You can back track for a free oneway.
If the only routing with award space involves backtracking, you can fly it.
You can have an out-of-the-way stopover to combine

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We're three months away from Christmas. If you know you want to visit family over Christmas, and you haven't yet booked your ticket, it is not too late to get home for Christmas for free.

But you have to start planning now. What's the plan?

First let's talk about how you shouldn't try to get home for free.

I get a lot of emails that start something like:

"We want to take our dream trip in summer 2015 to _______. What type of miles should we be collecting?"

While I admire that level of planning, there is a preliminary question.

Today is the last part of my three part series on my personal awards for travel between mid-2012 and mid-2014.

Which of My Personal Awards Could You Have Booked? Part 1
Which of My Personal Awards Could You Have Booked?

Today is the last part of my three part series on my personal awards for travel between mid-2012 and mid-2014.

Which of My Personal Awards Could You Have Booked? Part 1
Which of My Personal Awards Could You Have Booked?

Yesterday I published the first part of a three-part look at 17 awards I've booked myself for travel between mid-2012 and mid-2014.

Which of My Personal Awards Could You Have Booked? Part 1

Today I'll look at five more of the awards I've booked myself that range from economy flights in Argentina to First Class flights to my favorite award ever.

How many of these five awards could you have booked? How did I book them?

7.

Update: The offer to email me later in this post resulted in free drinks at the 2013 Chicago Seminars. The offer is now dead.

I book frequent-flyer-mile awards professionally through the MileValue Award Booking Service. I know how to book complex awards and squeeze every inch out of my miles. But do I routinely do it for myself?

I think I've booked myself 17 award for travel from May 2012 through March 2014.

If you have a stash of Star Alliance frequent flyer miles, United.com is a great place to start planning your award trip, but it's far from perfect.

I've detailed in the past how United's site will display "phantom" availability. Award space displays as bookable, but when you attempt to reserve the space online you will receive an error message. Then if you try to call in to book the trip--whether with United or another Star Alliance partner's miles to book the trip (e.g.

Early planners are looking to book their summer trips to Europe

Note: This post may have a shorter shelf life due to the impending US Airways merger.

Our Award Booking Service receives numerous requests from clients trying to maximize the value of their miles. These savvy travelers want to fly in the best premium cabins and take advantage of any and all liberal routing rules available.

Luckily, many of our clients have large Dividend Miles balances.