Great Award Space to Kona, Hawaii

Getting to the Big Island of Hawaii from the United States mainland is easy with miles. There are a ton of direct flights on several airlines, most of which have fantastic award space. Several of the flights can even be booked for as little as 12,500 miles each way.

I've been on the Kona side of Hawaii Island this week with my family, and it has been fantastic.

The snorkeling on this coast is the best I've ever experienced.

The Best Award on US Airways Chart Can Be Your Next Two Trips

The best award on the entire US Airways award chart could save you 70,000 miles on your next two trips.

United Adds New Route from Houston to Santiago; Award Space Nearly Every Day

United announced yesterday on Twitter that it would begin a new daily service from Houston to Santiago, Chile on December 7, 2014.

How to Get Tremendous Value Out of Your Lufthansa Miles Without Leaving the USA

Update July 1, 2014:

The current offer on the Premier Miles & More® World MasterCard® is 20,000 miles after first purchase and payment of $79 annual fee.

Earn 20,000 award miles after your first purchase or balance transfer
Earn up to 15,000 award miles with balance transfers (1 mile per $1 transferred) within 30 days of account opening
Earn 2 award miles per $1 on ticket purchases directly from Miles &

New Award Routing Rules from USA to Africa Save 90% Out of Pocket

You can now route through the Middle East on Qatar Airways on your way from the United States to Africa with American Airlines miles.

American Airlines has a unique routing rule that you cannot transit a third region on an award between two other regions. Under this rule, flying from the United States to the Middle East to Africa would require two awards, one from the United States to the Middle East and one from the Middle East to Africa.

It Took Me 8 Minutes to Book a Trip from Hawaii with Miles & More Miles

Update July 1, 2014:

The current offer on the Premier Miles & More® World MasterCard® is 20,000 miles after first purchase and payment of $79 annual fee.

Earn 20,000 award miles after your first purchase or balance transfer
Earn up to 15,000 award miles with balance transfers (1 mile per $1 transferred) within 30 days of account opening
Earn 2 award miles per $1 on ticket purchases directly from Miles &

Top Five US Airways Awards to Book Before It’s Too Late

Book these five awards before the US Airways Dividend Miles program disappears.

We know the program will end in early 2015, rolled into a new American Airlines loyalty program. I expect that combined program to be much worse than either the current American Airlines or US Airways program, which I love so much.

The two big reasons to love the US Airways program:

US Airways has the cheapest award chart for roundtrip awards. Look at this comparison table between United, Delta, American, and US Airways' award charts.

Amazing Sweet Spots on the Lufthansa Award Chart to and from Hawaii and All the Possibilities They Unlock

Update July 1, 2014:

The current offer on the Premier Miles & More® World MasterCard® is 20,000 miles after first purchase and payment of $79 annual fee.

Earn 20,000 award miles after your first purchase or balance transfer
Earn up to 15,000 award miles with balance transfers (1 mile per $1 transferred) within 30 days of account opening
Earn 2 award miles per $1 on ticket purchases directly from Miles &

The Best Lufthansa Routes for Last Second Premium Award Space

Update July 1, 2014:

The current offer on the Premier Miles & More® World MasterCard® is 20,000 miles after first purchase and payment of $79 annual fee.

Earn 20,000 award miles after your first purchase or balance transfer
Earn up to 15,000 award miles with balance transfers (1 mile per $1 transferred) within 30 days of account opening
Earn 2 award miles per $1 on ticket purchases directly from Miles &

British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, and American First Class on the Same Award to Australia for 140k Miles Roundtrip

Tuesday news broke that US Airways is not collecting fuel surcharges on British Airways flights on award tickets, which is surprising since American Airlines and British Airways have long collected fuel surcharges on British Airways flights.

US Airways miles are the most valuable miles around because of:

US Airways' very cheap award chart
US Airways' impressive roster of partners including surcharge-free British Airways
US Airways' lax routing rules on award tickets

Combining those three elements, I just put on hold a US Airways award from New York to Sydney with a stopover in Hong Kong one direction for 140k US