Anatomy of an Award: Bogota to Buenos Aires in Business Class for 20,000 Singapore Miles
August 7, 2015
Last week I redeemed 20,000 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles and $27 for a one way trip in Business Class from Bogota to Buenos Aires with an overnight in Lima. I will fly the award in a few months.
That’s over seven hours of flying up front for only 20,000 miles. United would have charged 40,000 miles for me to book the exact same award space.
I GOT IT WRONG: Virgin Australia Miles and Singapore Miles Don’t Transfer Freely Back and Forth
August 4, 2015
Update 8/5/15 at noon ET:
I totally messed this one up. Transfers are 1.35 Singapore miles to 1 Virgin Australia point or 1.35 Virgin Australia points to 1 Singapore mile. In both directions you lose about a quarter of your miles, so this is a terrible deal.
I GOT IT WRONG: Virgin Australia Miles and Singapore Miles Don’t Transfer Freely Back and Forth
August 4, 2015
Update 8/5/15 at noon ET:
I totally messed this one up. Transfers are 1.35 Singapore miles to 1 Virgin Australia point or 1.35 Virgin Australia points to 1 Singapore mile. In both directions you lose about a quarter of your miles, so this is a terrible deal.
Asiana,United,Award Booking,Singapore,Dreamliner
Amazing United Dreamliner Business Class Space to Rio and Santiago
July 30, 2015
United is offering tons of Business Class award space for the next 11 months on its flights to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Santiago, Chile.
Both routes will soon be flown by United's brand new 787-9 Dreamliners with flat beds in Business Class. You can book either route for as little as 35,000 miles one way.
United 787-9 Dreamliner
The United 787-9 Dreamliner has 48 beds in Business class in a 2-2-2 configuration. I would choose a middle seat, since both have direct aisle access.
Asiana,United,Award Booking,Singapore,Dreamliner
Amazing United Dreamliner Business Class Space to Rio and Santiago
July 30, 2015
United is offering tons of Business Class award space for the next 11 months on its flights to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Santiago, Chile.
Both routes will soon be flown by United's brand new 787-9 Dreamliners with flat beds in Business Class. You can book either route for as little as 35,000 miles one way.
United 787-9 Dreamliner
The United 787-9 Dreamliner has 48 beds in Business class in a 2-2-2 configuration. I would choose a middle seat, since both have direct aisle access.
Singapore,Virgin Atlantic,Etihad,Lufthansa,Asia Miles
DREAM BIG: Five Things I Can Do with My Miles that I Wouldn’t Do with Cash
June 16, 2015
Cash is great because it can buy everything from travel to your basic necessities. But sometimes miles are better. There are a lot of things I can easily do with miles that I would never do with cash (at least until my bank account had a few more zeroes.)
Dream big with your miles. Better yet, dream big before your miles. Then get the right miles to turn that dream into a reality.
Using Singapore Miles to Europe in Economy is Better Than Using United Miles
April 14, 2015
It costs fewer Singapore miles to fly United economy flights to Europe than the same flight costs with United miles, and neither award has fuel surcharges.
Conclusion: book United economy awards to Europe with Singapore miles instead of United miles.
From Singapore's award chart:
27,500 miles one way in economy to Europe (United charges 30k)
65,000 miles one way in Business Class (United charges 57.5k)
80,000 miles one way in First Class (United charges the same)
Singapore does not collect fuel surcharges on awards of United flights, so those economy awards on United flights are just cheaper
Avianca,British Airways,Swiss,Flying Blue,Singapore
Best Ways to Get from South America to Europe
February 23, 2015
I'm intrigued by flights and awards that don't involve America. If there's a cool award to get from Australia to SE Asia, that can be integral to a longer, better, and cheaper trip.
My two favorite continents to explore are South America and Europe.
US Airways,United,Singapore,AAdvantage
The Cheapest Awards within One Region
September 15, 2014
If you THINK BIG, and take an amazing multi-destination trip, you'll need to book several tickets to hop between destinations.
In the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia, flights are fairly cheap because of the many competing airlines, including low cost carriers. In other regions, like Africa and South America, short flights can be exorbitantly expensive as a lack of competition drives up prices.
When ticket prices are expensive, that's the time to use miles. I've already laid out the cheapest intra-region bargain awards with American Airlines and United miles.
United,Lufthansa,Anatomy of an Award,Singapore
Booking Two Tickets on the Same United Flight
August 12, 2014
Last year I wrote "How to Book Multiple Awards from Different Accounts on the Same Flights."
The idea is that you can never transfer miles from one airline to another, even if they are airline partners, but you can book two seats on the exact same flights with two different types of miles.
Last week I used 30,000 Singapore miles and 35,000 Lufthansa miles to book myself and a friend one way First Class flights on United from Honolulu to San Francisco.
United flies one flight a day from Honolulu to San Francisco on a 767-400ER with fully