Award Space Every Day This Summer to Lima
December 10, 2014
Some credit card offers in this post have expired, but they might come back. If they do they will appear --> Click here for the top current credit card sign up bonuses.
Bri wrote in her Free Credit Card Consultation:
2 passengers, to Lima, Peru. Anytime in July 2015 (hopefully stay 2 weeks). I would love to fly business class but I would like to err on the side of opening just 1 card, if possible. My friend is willing to also open a card.
How I Just Blew Rudy Maxa’s Mind
November 22, 2014
I just appeared on the Rudy Maxa radio show to talk about United making it harder to achieve elite status by adding a separate spending requirement on United tickets in addition to miles flown, a requirement which came into effect this year and is increasing next year.
Rudy asked how folks should adapt to this change, and I don't think he expected such an easy answer.
From United.com:
"Does the PQD [Scott: Premier Qualifying Dollars, the amount you must spend on United tickets] requirement apply to all MileagePlus members?
For 2014, the PQD requirement only applies to members whose primary
United,Trick,Award Booking,Anatomy of an Award
Two Tricks I Used on My Last Award Booking
November 18, 2014
As you read this, I'm 35,000 feet up on my way to Medellin, Colombia.
I was in Tucson over the weekend for a tennis tournament, and I didn't have any exit flight booked. I really wanted to return to Colombia because I had enjoyed Bogota so much and heard even better things about Medellin, but award space didn't appear to be available for a Monday departure from Tucson to Medellin.
I used two tricks and a little bit of creativity to come up with a Saver award, save myself $75 in fees, and give myself a chance to hang
Award Space on United 787-9 Dreamliner to Melbourne Australia
November 13, 2014
United flies from Los Angeles to Melbourne directly with its newest plane the 787-9 Dreamliner.
15 hours 45 minutesAward space on United's Dreamliners in Business Class has been abysmal, but I wanted to check in and see if anything was different on this route.
We want to get into these flat beds up frontThe good news is that there is award space on the route in both directions for two people in Business Class.
What is the award space picture?
How many miles does the flight to Australia
United Offering 20% Discount on Awards to Europe
November 13, 2014
United is offering a 20% discount on economy awards to Europe flown this winter.
Instead of the normal 60,000 miles roundtrip, Saver awards to nine airports in Europe will cost only 48,000 miles roundtrip.
This is a good deal if you were already planning to use United miles to fly to Europe this winter, but there are better deals for winter travel to Europe.
How does the deal work? (One ways?)
What are the better off peak awards to Europe?
Basics of United Award Sale
The full terms and conditions of the sale are available here.
Take Your Whole Family to Europe This Summer
November 5, 2014
Aer Lingus, a partner of United MileagePlus and British Airways Avios, debuts a Washington-Dulles to Dublin route on May 1, 2015.
United,Award Booking,Air Canada
Gold Mine Award Space to Europe for Summer 2015
November 4, 2014
United miles are the best to Europe, though the routes with gold mine award space for Summer 2015 might surprise you. For Summer 2014, I wrote Route from the US to Europe via Canada for Better Award Space, and I decided to check back in on some of our old favorite routes to see if they were again gold mines for 2015.
The answer is a resounding yes.
United,Off Peak,AAdvantage,US Airways,Lufthansa,Flying Blue,Delta
Master Thread: Off Peak Awards
November 3, 2014
Off peak awards allow us to stretch our miles further by booking discounted awards to select regions during certain pre-determined dates. Off peak awards are offered by several airlines, and this post will put all the off peak awards I know of in one place.
While off peak awards are often less desirable dates, there are some off peak dates that are actually my favorite times to visit a country.
United,Aer Lingus,Dreamliner,Ethiopian
New Dreamliner Flight LAX to Europe with Tons of Award Space
October 22, 2014
Update 10/23/14: Commenter Jeremy finds the award space now on aeroplan.com, and I can confirm that the space on these Ethiopian flights is now bookable and is still excellent! (None of the rest of the post has been updated to reflect this information.)
Ethiopian Airlines will begin flying Los Angeles to Dublin to Addis Ababa in June 2015 with a 787 Dreamliner.
US Airways,United,AAdvantage,Delta,Award Booking
Australia over Christmas and New Years on Miles
October 15, 2014
I get a ton of requests at my Award Booking Service for people who want to fly from the United States to Australia or New Zealand over Christmas and New Year's with their frequent flyer miles. Usually the request is to fly in Business or First Class.
I want to dissuade you from this goal because it is one of the toughest awards to book.
Last month I wrote "The Easiest Places to Get with Miles." Miles are awesome and can get you almost anywhere in the world cheaper and more luxuriously than most people realize.