It takes a long time to learn to use miles and points well. It can be difficult to redeem for first class award travel, but the benefits can be great.
Most of us wouldn't pay cash for international first and business class tickets, but miles make it possible for us to experience them for a fraction of the cost. I think it makes sense to go back to the basics and look at the big picture when it comes to redemption miles.
If you redeemed miles for an international first or business class partner award ticket at the saver level, you won't learn much, so skip this post. Hopefully this post will help you redeem miles for domestic flights at the standard award rate. Let me know if you have a question.
Below are my top tips for maximizing how you redeem your airline miles, ranked in order of importance.
Most savvy consumers in the U.S. don't earn most of their airline miles through flying but through credit cards. Huge welcome bonuses are offered by credit cards. I wouldn't recommend getting an airline credit card and earning a specific mileage currency.
I would recommend getting a credit card with points that can be used in other countries. The following are the four main currencies.
The key to the flexibility of these cards is that they often have huge welcome bonuses and great returns on spending. The beauty of points currencies is that you can transfer them to over a dozen partner programs at a1:1 ratio.
Instead of earning a specific mileage currency that could easily be devaluing overnight and that offers limited flexibility, earn points that can be transferred to over a dozen programs, and in turn can be redeemed on more than one airline.
The Chase Ultimate rewards transfer partners allow 1:1 transfers.
If you can use a card that earns points that can be transferred to any of those programs, why don't you? You are not limited to actually flying those airlines as they have many other partnerships as well.
People think they should earn miles with the airline they want to fly with. Want to fly in the business class of the airline? You might think that you have to earn points for Privilege Club to be able to use it.
The beautiful world of award redemption arbitrage opportunities has been created by this. You can earn or redeem miles when you travel with one of the partner airlines.
Since an airline can't take you everywhere in the world, this is designed to give loyal passengers of each airline as much global coverage as possible Some airlines have their own partnerships while others belong to one of the big three alliances.
Air Canada Aeroplan points are one of my favorite points currencies as the program is transfer partners with three of the four major points currencies. You can redeem Aeroplan points on any Star Alliance airline if Air Canada is a member of the alliance.
| Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) |
It's even better than that. The redemption possibilities are endless with Aeroplan's partnerships with non-Star Alliance airlines. You need to research the website of the airline with which you have miles in order to find out who they partner with.
One last example shows how much there are arbitrage opportunities. If you could find award availability, you might be able to fly All Nippon Airways from the United States to Japan.
All Nippon Airways is a member of the Star Alliance. A minimum of 120,000 MileagePlus miles is required for such an award. You could earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles if you preferred. The award is half as much as it used to be.
An international first or business class ticket is assumed to be unrealistic by the average consumer. It is different if you have access to miles. A credit card welcome bonus is all it takes for an international first class ticket.
When paying with miles, an international first class ticket might cost 10 times as much as an economy ticket, but it would only cost 2 times as much. If you have always wanted to fly first class and have a good credit score, it is realistic.
It was difficult to find award availability when most airlines didn't display it on their websites. Many agents weren't properly trained in how to book awards.
It's easier to find award space and ticket reservations with miles on airline websites. Most airlines will show most partner award availability on their website. Some websites are better than others when it comes to searching for availability.
Try to find award availability for yourself online, rather than calling the airline and asking for assistance. It's a good idea to search for award availability with the "big three" alliances.
Point.me is a great resource for searching award availability and redeem miles. It is possible to find all the award space that is bookable based on which points currency you have, and then you will be guided through the booking process.
You will want to be strategic about how you look for awards. If you are planning a long haul award and live near a small airport, you may want to look at award availability at other airports. You should consider booking your ticket separately from the awards you're looking at.
The ability to take time off work is one of the reasons why many people have specific periods where they can travel. You should try to book as soon as the schedule opens.
Most airlines open up their schedules around 10 and 12 months before departure. Finding award space and not finding award space are two different things.
The chart shows when major airlines open their awards calendars.
It is important to understand that airlines don't release award space in all cabins on all flights, so if you check space the day it opens and there's nothing available, that doesn't mean someone else "beat you to it."
When the schedule opens, some airlines promise that award seats will be available. Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have this promise. Both airlines impose surcharge on award tickets.
This is the best way to find award space. A lot of people think that airlines don't release award space after the schedule opens.
It's not unusual for airlines to release the most award space last minute when there are unsold seats. Since airlines assume these seats are booked by business travelers, they can be a good deal with points.
This doesn't work for a lot of people. If you want to go to Europe for the weekend in comfort, you can use airline miles at the last minute.
If you want to book award tickets, you have to be flexible because many people don't like miles. Keeping in mind how much value you can get out of miles if you redeem them properly is more important than trying to be flexible.
If we are talking about redeeming miles for business class between Los Angeles and Singapore, we should be able to look at it differently.
I don't think it's a good idea to decide where you travel based on where there's award space, but I think it can be fun at times. We all have a bucket list of destinations we would like to visit, so if you see a bunch of award availability open up to a destination that has been on your list, that could be worth looking into.
Business class award space has historically been restricted by the airline. Hundreds of people took advantage of the business class award space that was released by the airline. I don't think most people are going to go to Fiji before that space opens up, but they will have a great time.
Some experiences are better than others. If you have a choice of products at the same mileage level, I recommend reading online reviews and trip reports of the airlines before booking.
If you want to fly international first class on American Airlines you will have a different experience than you will on Singapore Airlines.
Airlines are more flexible thanks to the Pandemic. The policies of airlines when it comes to changing and cancelling award tickets are worth knowing.
What is the reason it matters so much? You don't know if you'll be able to take the trip 11 months in advance. If you could cancel it for free, it might be worth the $200 cancellation fee.
You can save a lot of money by booking with programs that have low or no change and cancellation fees.
Everyone has a travel goal. Some people would like to travel to Thailand in business class, while others would like to travel to Florida for Spring Break. Both types of travel are great, but miles and points aren't worth as much.
You can get great value on long haul, international tickets, as well as first and business class tickets if you use a traditional mileage currency. If you want to travel domestically in economy on specific dates, you can earn cash back or equivalent points currency.
Credit card rewards can be seen in terms of chance cost. The Citi Double Cash Card, which offers 1% cash back when you make a purchase and 1% cash back when you pay for that purpose, is ideal for some people. By the time you pay your bill, you will earn two cents for every dollar you spend.
If you just want to travel domestically and don't have a lot of flexibility, Accruing that cash back and being able to redeem it toward whatever travel experience you want is a good option.
There is a learning curve to efficiently redeem airline miles and points. If you maximize credit card rewards, you can get international first and business class tickets. Make sure you get the best value by following the above tips.
Do you have any suggestions on how to redeem miles and points?
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