Category Archives: Miles and Points

Earn Frequent Flyer Miles On Non-Chain Hotels Including Some Eco-Lodges

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Pointshound Partners

Pointshound is a fairly new hotel booking engine that gives you frequent flyer miles in your choice of several airline programs.  This is a great option for people who don’t travel enough to get any benefits from joining hotel loyalty programs but still want to earn some miles and book using a secure credit card payment system.  The one frustrating thing I have found is that many smaller hotels and lodges want you to email your credit card details which is very insecure as you don’t know who will have access to them.  Even if the lodgekeepers are honest, it doesn’t mean someone passing by or cleaning the waste bins may not see it.  I like being able to use either Paypal or

First you need to join Pointshound.  It’s free and if you use my link, both you and I will get a bonus 250 points when you book your first room.

Here’s how to find eco-lodges to book on Pointshound.  Let’s use the example of Montverde, Costa Rica which is famous for its cloud forest, Respendant Quetzals and great birding.  I have chosen to earn United miles since that is the next goal I need to achieve for a future trip. (Not my real dates, just being used as an example).   Pointshound supports 3 of the airlines (AA, UA, US) on my Top 8 Frequent Flyer Programs for Eco-tourists.

Booking Pointshound

Since I have been researching this town for my upcoming trip, I know that it’s easy and cheap to get a taxi for the short ride to the park entrance but if your lodge is too far out of town you will be limited on dining choices.  The first screen you see will be sorted on popularity and show which airline program you chose and a list of how many miles you will earn.

Pointshound booking

It’s a good idea to check out the map view to see what location suits you.  I also like to check the reviews on Trip Advisor to be sure the hotel is well located and there aren’t too many complaints, especially from people with at least 10 reviews overall.

Map View

As I scan the locations, prices and descriptions, Cala Lodge jumps out at me for being an attractive small lodge but close to town which is important since we aren’t renting a car but using public transport on this trip.  The reviews on Trip Advisor are good and I am pleased to see that one of the owners is a knowledgeable birding guide.

Select the lodge you want and you will see this screen that tells you the price and how many miles you earn.  Choose the room you want, in this case the standard room will do.

Pointhound booking

Lastly, fill out the screen and see the confirmation of the price and how many miles you will earn, also which account they will credit to (which I blacked out here).  Be sure to check the cancellation policies and make sure you are comfortable with them.  For more information about Pointshound, see their FAQ page.

Pointshound booking

15% Bonus When You Transfer Credit Card Points To Virgin Velocity

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If you have a credit card from any of the banks below, you have 2 more weeks to take advantage of this promo.  They do these bonuses once a year, maybe twice if you are lucky.  Since I am an advance planner, I wait for them when I have a trip planned to a Velocity destination like Rarotonga, Tasmania or anywhere else they fly.

Velocity Promo

If you do not have an Amex card, I can get you up to 40,000 sign-up bonus points if I refer you.  Please post below in the comments and include your real email (which won’t be published) and I will email you a referral.  I can refer for several different Amex cards.  Although some of the cards have a high annual fee, it can be offset by the free airline ticket that comes with the card.

Amex Referral

Avianca-Taca LifeMiles 100% Bonus On Buying Miles 8-30 April

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One of the best buy miles promos is back!  Hopefully you all took my advice and joined LifeMiles when I first blogged about its benefits for eco-tourists.   One of the catches with these promos is that you must have joined before the promo is announced.  If you are new to MTTW, here is a complete list of all the airline programs I recommend you join to get started.

If you read other travel blogs, you will see most bloggers recommend using LifeMiles for Star Alliance awards, but it is much easier to use them on Avianca-Taca flights and you can save quite a bit since flights within Central America and Peru can be costly.  When you buy miles, you should always have a plan to use them within the next year or so as you never know when they may be devalued.  Also, be sure to check the cost of buying a ticket for cash (which may earn you miles depending on fare class) and compare to the cost of buying enough miles for an award.  You will be able to check availability on the LifeMiles site before you spend any money.  Star Alliance awards can be a bit tricky to get so if you have a destination in mind, please ask in the comments and I will tell you more info.  Awards on Avianca-Taca can be great bargains, I used them for our upcoming trip to Central America and saved over $1000 for 2 people!  Here’s the rules of the current promo:

Buy miles 2×1

Buy miles and get twice as much!

We want you to enjoy life twice as much, therefore, for each package of 1,000 miles you buy, LifeMiles will give you a bonus of 100 % more that can be redeemed to fly on routes operated by Avianca, TACA, AeroGal, partner airlines or Star Alliance member airlines. Also, you can enjoy your LifeMiles with the programs’ vast partner network or through our LifeMiles Catalog where you get the best products from different categories like technology, personal use items, home appliances and toys among others.

You can access this promotion through our Call Center, LifeMiles.com or at Avianca and TACA’s Information Centers.

Terms and conditions

  • This promotion is available through Avianca and TACA’s Call Centers, LifeMiles.com and Avianca and TACA’s Information Centers, except Colombia where is available only through the Call Center and LifeMiles.com
  • This promotion is available between April 8th, and April 30th, 2013, as the last date of purchase
  • Maximum miles to buy per transaction: LM75,000
  • Minimum of miles to buy per transaction: LM1,000
  • Maximum miles to buy during a calendar year: LM150,000
  • Miles must be purchased in multiples of 1,000
  • Maximum number of transactions: 1 transaction
  • At LifeMiles.com, the purchase can only be done through Earn/Buy LifeMiles. Does not apply to the Flexible Redemption (miles + money) during the payment process of air ticket redemption
  • The amount for purchase of miles is not refundable
  • Each package of 1,000 miles costs USD 35,40, including all taxes applicable to each country*
  • For Venezuela residents: each package of 1,000 miles costs USD 40,oo plus local taxes of 12% IVA, for a total cost of USD 44,8o. The values are settled at the current exchange rate to Bolivares Fuertes.
  • Form of payment through Call Center and LifeMiles.com: International credit or debit card. Cash payments are only allowed at Avianca or TACA’s Information Centers
  • The cost per block of 1,000 miles may vary according to the country or channel of purchase

Other conditions:

  • Applies only to members enrolled in the program prior to April 8th, 2013
  • The miles purchase transaction receipt will show the total of miles credited to the customer’s account, including bonus, and the total amount charged for the transaction
  • The miles bought and earned with this promotion do not apply to achieve Elite status
  • The amount paid for the miles’ purchase is not refundable
  • The miles are not endorsable
  • Miles purchased, once accrued, can be redeemed in accordance with the conditions specified in the LifeMiles’ Program Terms and Conditions and the portfolio of products and services available for redemption.
  • LifeMiles Terms and Conditions apply
  • * The price may be lower depending on the country of residence registered in the members account in the database

 

Priority Club Pointbreaks Offer A Few Hotels For Eco-Travelers

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The new Pointbreaks list is out with various hotels  on offer for 5000 points valid for booking through June 30, 2013.  This is a new development as previously most lists were only valid for 2 months and this list is valid for over 3 months.

Central and South America are popular birding destinations and odds are you will have an early morning flight at some point so why not save your money here and spend more on supporting locals in the national parks?

ARGENTINA

BRAZIL

COLOMBIA

COSTA RICA

EL SALVADOR

HONDURAS

NICARAGUA

 

Only one option in Oceania but there is good birding up north and Townsville is the jumping off point for Magnetic Island.

AUSTRALIA

 

There’s a couple good ones in Asia.  In India, Jaipur is a gateway to the famous Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary but you would only need an overnight in the city because it is much nice to stay within the sanctuary as I did in Sept 2011.

INDIA

 

Subic Bay in the Philippines has great birding and Clark is not too far away and taxis are pretty cheap in the Philippines.

PHILIPPINES

 

Check the other hotels in the Asia tab on the main Pointbreaks site to see if any suit your plans as a gateway city.

Don’t plan to spend all your time in these hotels even if they are fantastic bargains.  None of them are in national parks where you can see birds, the best use for these hotels is when you are connecting to and from a flight.  Do plan to spend most of your time in local eco-lodges, preferably within the sanctuaries or parks.

Miles For Surveys – E-Miles

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Last week, we looked at E-Rewards as a means of earning free miles.  E-Miles is another such survey company but their surveys are much quicker and usually involve simply looking at an advertisement or video, then answering a few questions about it.  Unlike E-Rewards, you don’t have to wait for an invitation to join but you do have to nominate your sponsor when you join.  Here is a list of their sponsors.

E-Miles Sponsors

Once you are registered, they will send you emails when you have an earning opportunity with a link to click on.  You will then see a page something like this.

Earn miles now

 

Click on the button to see just exactly what you have to do to earn the miles and how much you have to donate to get the larger bonuses.  Most of these will be monthly donations so pay attention to the T&Cs.

E-MIles Charity Screen

If you do not wish to make a donation, you will still get 5 miles for viewing the ad and answering a few questions.

E-Miles Survey

Tick the boxes you want and then click the Submit button and you will instantly get 5 miles for just a minute or two of your time.  If you regularly donate to charities, this is a good portal to use to get some free miles for doing what you normally do.

Surveys For Miles – E-Rewards

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For people who have time on their hands, surveys can offer an easy way to free airline miles.  The largest survey company is E-Rewards.

 

For some airline sponsors, you need to have an invitation to join.  These invitations are usually forthcoming if you have opted in to receive partner marketing promos.  For some airlines, they have a link on their website so you can join whenever you want.  Here are the ones from my Top 8 Programs for Eco-Travelers.  Other airlines also have E-Rewards so please check with your frequent flyer program to see which ones are included.

1.  American Airlines   Earn 250 AAdvantage bonus miles* for enrolling in the e-Rewards® Opinion Panel. Earn even more miles for taking surveys that have been selected to match your interests. To enroll, visit www.e-rewards.com.

2.  United Airlines   As a MileagePlus member, you are invited to earn award miles by sharing your opinions with the e-Rewards® Opinion Panel. As a member of e-Rewards, you’ll receive e-Rewards Currency for participating in market research surveys that have been selected to match your interests. e-Rewards Currency can then be redeemed for MileagePlus award miles.  Enroll today and you’ll receive 250 bonus award miles when you complete your first survey within three months of enrolling.*

* Bonus miles are available to newly enrolled e-Rewards members only.

3.  US Airways   By invitation only. Update your Dividend Miles profile and opt in to our ‘news and offers’ email for an invitation to join e-Rewards!

  • As a Dividend Miles member, you may qualify to receive an invitation to join the e-Rewards® Opinion Panel.
  • As a member of e-Rewards, you’ll accrue e-Rewards earnings for participating in market research surveys that have been selected to match your interests. These earnings can be redeemed for miles

Redemption rates for AA, UA and US

4.  Iberia Avios (can transfer to/from British Airways Avios)  As an Iberia Plus member, you may qualify to receive an invitation to join the e-Rewards® Opinion Panel. As a Member of e-Rewards, you´ll accrue e-Rewards earnings for participating in market research surveys selected to match your unique lifestyle and interests.  e-Rewards earnings can be redeemed for Avios once every 30 days, with no limit to the number of Avios you can earn.   Membership is by invitation only. There is no cost to participate, and your privacy is guaranteed. Update your communication preferences to receive e-mail communications for special partner offers, and you could receive an invitation to join the e-Rewards® Opinion Panel.

Redemption rate for Avios

For Aussies:

5.  Virgin Velocity   As a Velocity member, you’re invited to enrol in the e-Rewards Opinion Panel and earn Opinion PointsTM for participating in market research surveys that are selected to match your interests. You can then redeem your Opinion Points for Velocity Points. Your opinions will influence the marketing decisions of leading companies.   To enrol, simply tell us about your interests by completing the online profile to follow. The more information you provide, the more relevant and interesting the surveys you receive from us will be.  You’ll receive 750 Velocity Points when you complete your first survey within three months of enrolling.

Velocity

The other 3 of my recommended programs do not partner with E-Rewards – Avianca/Taca, Qantas, Singapore Airlines.

HOTEL LOYALTY PROGRAMS

The nice thing about joining through a hotel program is that they will give you access to redemptions on all of E-Reward’s airline partners.  When you join via an airline partner, you will only be able to redeem for that one airline plus all the hotel partners so if you get an invitation from a hotel partner to join E-Rewards, jump on it!  Hotel programs currently participating with E-Rewards are Club Carlson, Hilton HHonors, Choice Rewards, Priority Club and La Quinta.

Remember you are limited to one E-Rewards membership per person (email account) so choose your partner wisely!

Getting To Central Asia With Frequent Flyer Miles

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Out of the countries classified as “Central Asia”, the ones that offer the best birding are India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.  This is one area you have to carefully check how your airline’s program defines Central Asia, sometimes Sri Lanka is put into South-East Asia.   If you are married to or involved with a non-birding partner, this is a great region to plan a trip to as they will find plenty to do while you are off chasing birds.   Unfortunately, being so far from everywhere it can be very expensive to get there whether you use miles or cash.  Let’s look at a few options using the top 8 frequent flyer programs for eco-tourists.

Central Asia Map

 

ONE WORLD ALLIANCE

 

AMERICAN AADVANTAGE

For most people, joining American Airline’s AAdvantage will be the best option.  They have quite a few credit card options to quickly build your miles stash and a few partners such as E-Rewards and various hotels where you can transfer points in.  The region is called “Indian Subcontinent and Middle East” on this chart and includes Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Maldives, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan.

Please note that Sri Lanka is in South-East Asia for award purposes so you would do better to use Avios for routes between India and Sri Lanka.

Airlines which serve this area include British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas with Malaysian Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Qatar Airways joining very soon.

Peru Award2

These figures are one-way so double if you want a round trip.  The nice thing about AAdvantage is the flexibility, you may choose to go one way in economy and one way in business, or do an open jaw where you fly into Kathmandu (KTM)  for example and out of Mumbai (BOM).

USA and Canada:  Each way is 45,000 economy;  67,500 business; 90,000 first.  You can use British Airways, Air Berlin, Finnair, Iberia and Etihad but there are no stopovers allowed.

UK and Europe:  Each way is 20,000 economy; 30,000 business; 40,000 first.  You can use British Airways, Etihad or (coming soon)  SriLankan Airlines; or use Finnair, Air Berlin or Iberia to get to Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong or anywhere Qantas flies.

Australia and New Zealand:  Each way is 30,000 economy; 45,000 business; 60,000 first.  You can use Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Malaysian.

QANTAS

For Aussies who have easy access to Qantas points via their employer or Everyday Rewards, it’s worth checking out QF’s awards to Central Asia.  Use their points calculator as the awards are distance based, not by country.   The awards look expensive compared to AA, UA and US but if you got your points for free, might as well enjoy them!  Here is an example of what you could expect from one way in economy from Sydney to Mumbai.

AVIOS (BRITISH AIRWAYS AND IBERIA)

Later this year, Sri Lankan Airlines will  join One World, which opens up bargain redemptions for local short routes.  In the examples below, the awards will range from 4500 Avios to 10,000 Avios.  Compare the distance traveled with the screenshot of the Avios distance chart below.

.
AVIOS AWARD CHART

 

 

STAR ALLIANCE AIRLINES

 

No matter where you live, the two best programs to use in Star Alliance are United and US Airways.  Both have their pros and cons.  With United, you can book partner awards online, book one-way awards and get lots of miles via several Chase credit cards; but if you can’t get these cards it can be hard to get miles in United Mileage Plus.  With US Airways, the major drawbacks are you have to book round-trips and you can’t book online, you have to call them.   The advantage with US Airways is that they offer frequent “Buy miles, get 100% bonus free” promos and in the past, they had the wonderful Grand Slam promos where it was possible to do partner transactions and with careful planning you could get about 120,000 miles for $400-600 incremental cost.  The US Airways Grand Slam hasn’t been seen since Sept-Nov 2011, unfortunately they didn’t do it in 2012.  Depending on where you live, Avianca/Taca Lifemiles could be useful too, but it is hard to use their booking engine for complicated routings so I suggest saving them for USA-Central/South America where they offer better value and ease of booking.

US Airways Chart

US AIRWAYS (round-trip only) Region is South & Central Asia which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Chagos, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

USA and Canada:  Economy 80,000; Business 120,000; First 160,000.  You can use United, Air Canada, Air New Zealand (hard to get) or sometimes take the “scenic route” via Asia using Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Asiana or ANA (All Nippon Airlines).  US has recently started enforcing MPM (maximum permitted miles) so some Asian routings may not be acceptable.

UK and Europe:  Economy 70,000, Business 90,000; First 110,000.  Most people try to get routings using Singapore, Thai, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines.  Some airlines do not give US Airways business or first class awards such as Singapore, Lufthansa and Swiss.

Australia and New Zealand:  Economy 70,000, Business 90,000; First 120,000.  You can fly on Singapore, Thai and Air New Zealand.

 

UNITED AIRLINES (can book one-way or round trip.

The award chart is too big to copy paste here so please follow this link to see the whole chart.

USA and Canada:  (each way) Economy 40,000; Business 60,000; First 80,000.  You can use United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Turkish, LOT, Egypt Air or sometimes take the “scenic route” via Asia using Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Asiana or ANA (All Nippon Airlines).  You can easily see the routings via their online award booking engine.

UK and Europe:  (each way) Economy 30,000, Business 50,000; First 60,000.  Most people try to get routings using Singapore, Thai, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines.  You can easily see the routings on their online award booking engine but be careful if you are looking at business or first class awards as sometimes they offer mixed class awards and the long-haul section could be in economy with a short sector in business or first.

Australia and New Zealand:  Economy 30,000, Business 45,000; First 60,000.  You can fly on Singapore, Thai and Air New Zealand.

Here’s an example of London to Mumbai, as you can see they quote both the miles and taxes and the business class award are “mixed class” and if you hover over the fare, you can see which flight is in which class.

LHR – BOM

You can see how much cheaper it is to fly from Brussels due to the very high UK departure taxes.

 

These are just a few examples, please feel free to ask questions in the comments.

If you need ideas on how to acquire frequent flyer miles, please see the Resources tab and Miles and Points tab. which I will update with new offers for free or cheap miles.

LIST OF PARROTS IN CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES

INDIA

NEPAL

SRI LANKA

Are Hotel Points Even Worth It For Eco-Travelers?

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The latest bad news is all over FlyerTalk and the travel blogosphere – Hilton is the latest hotel chain to devalue their points.  This isn’t a chain I paid much attention to, I only joined it for the US Grand Slam hits a few years ago.  Other chains were easier to earn points in and what I earned in Hilton came mostly from E-Rewards and Topguest (until my account and my husband’s got “Celested” last year).

So are hotel chains worth it?  It’s getting harder to earn points for leisure travelers with fewer promos on offer.  The only deals that are even worth it are the credit cards that give a free night or generous anniversary point bonus.  Eco-lodges where I can see wild birds is my #1 priority and they need to be booked either direct with the lodge or sometimes via online TA’s such as Expedia, Travelocity and Hotels.com which you may need to do to use a credit card.   You can’t get them with points, need cash!  True, we still need accommodation at gateway cities and hotel points can come in handy for that.

For non-eco-trips such as big cities or beach resorts hotels points are useful but Priceline and Hotwire could also be an option or Wotif for Aussies.   Fortunately for me, I still have a decent supply of points in Club Carlson and Priority Club and have a shiny new SPG Amex so we will be pretty well set for the next few years.

Moving forward, this is my strategy which will work better for people who can get USA credit cards and don’t have other issues such as travel for work and getting elite status.  I will still keep chasing airline miles but for accommodation, I can see a shifting of focus to cash-back cards and promos to help pay for eco-lodges in my future.

FIRST CHOICE PROGRAMS

1.  CLUB CARLSON – they have properties in some good areas for eco-tourists such as Panama, India, Puerto Rico and others.  We did last year’s promo for the Big Night Giveaway and my new Club Carlson visa gives a free award night with redemption of 2 or more nights and 25k annual bonus.

2.  PRIORITY CLUB – their best deal is the Pointbreaks but it’s luck of the draw if they will have one at a hotel you are planning to stay at and I am not the sort who will go somewhere JUST because there is a Pointbreak there.  The Chase Visa gives an annual free night and with my previously earned stash, we’re pretty well fixed.

3.  SPG – All points will come from either the SPG Amex or can be transferred in from my Aussie Amex.  This is a very flexible program because if you can’t find a hotel to spend your points on, you can always transfer them to an airline at 20,000 SPG = 25,000 airline miles.

POTENTIALLY USEFUL PROGRAMS

4.  CHOICE – good value in Europe, Australia is a bit pricey.  I have a good stash from last year’s Discover America program but not planning to chase more points here.  When they are gone, goodbye!

5.  WYNDHAM – just had a devaluation, I personally don’t find much value in their hotel rewards and you have to call to book international awards which is a pita.  This program is only useful if they have a good promo (can do phantom stays)  and then I would transfer the points to an airline for 8000 Wyndham = 3200 airline.

NOT PLANNING TO USE (UNLESS I CAN PRICELINE THEM)

6.  HYATT – nothing wrong with this program and they have great hotels, they are just more expensive for me than Club Carlson and Priority Club.  Business travelers seem to really love Hyatt so your needs may be different.  I did use some Chase Ultimate Rewards to book Hyatt Regency Maui for later this year because my main chains don’t serve Maui or in SPG’s case, they didn’t have cash &  points.

7.  MARRIOTT – nice hotels but just not good value for redemptions and hard to get points.

8.  HILTON – again, nice hotels but just not good value for redemptions and hard to get points

9.  BEST WESTERN – good coverage and reasonably priced for cash but points redemptions not good.  I’d stay at a BW but use a portal like UR, Hotels.com or similar and not bother accruing to the BW program.

Sizing Up The AA – US Merger

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AA US Merger

It’s all over the main news channels and the travel blogosphere,  AA and US have announced their imminent merger on Valentine’s Day no less!  FlyerTalk and other travel blogs are buzzing madly with speculation on what this all means for them.  Both airlines are on my list of top 8 airlines for eco-travelers.  So far, all we know officially from AA in regards to the frequent flyer programs:

Enjoy a more rewarding travel experience with American Airlines AAdvantage® and US Airways Dividend Miles.

At this time, American and US Airways will remain separate companies and each company will maintain its current loyalty program. Your AAdvantage miles are secure and existing miles will continue to be honored. Likewise, your elite qualifying miles and your elite status, including lifetime status granted under the Million MilerSM are secure and remain intact. In addition, you will continue to earn miles through existing AAdvantage participating companies, including the Citi®/ AAdvantage credit cards and will be able to redeem those miles for the same great awards – flights, upgrades, car rentals and hotels, just to name a few.

You will continue to have options for travel and benefits both domestically and internationally through our continued membership in the oneworld® Alliance. As they do today, our oneworld® partners will offer you access to a range of destinations, airline choices, and mileage earning and redemption opportunities.

You can continue to book, track and manage flights and your AAdvantage account on AA.com.

Ultimately, the combined company is expected to offer members more opportunities to earn and burn miles from an expanded global network of routes and partnerships, unmatched redemption options — including flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages, one-way awards and lounge memberships – and much more.

And from the US Airways site:

Enjoy a more rewarding travel experience with US Airways Dividend Miles® and American Airlines AAdvantage®. Both programs are among the most popular loyalty programs in the world and will continue to offer best-in-class elite programs, unmatched redemption options and more ways to earn miles from an expanded global network of routes and partnerships.

Until the merger is complete, US Airways and American Airlines will remain separate companies and each company will maintain its current loyalty programs (US Airways – Dividend Miles and American Airlines – AAdvantage). Existing miles will be honored, and there will be no impact to your US Airways MasterCard® or US Airways Visa® card. You can continue to earn and redeem mileage for travel awards with us and our Star Alliance partners. You can also continue to book, track and manage flights on usairways.com.

THE EFFECT ON ECO-TRAVELERS

It’s going to be tough to assess the effect on eco-travelers because both alliances have their strengths.  Right away, I can see that people traveling between North America and the South Pacific are going to have to fork out more miles in the AA program.  These awards currently cost 75k in Y and 125k in J using AAdvantage vs 80k in Y and 110k in J on US Airways.   If a trip to Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands and other Pacific Islands is on your wish list and you want to travel in business class, you might want to consider bringing it forward to take advantage of the bargains on US Airways.  Economy travelers will find AA’s award cheaper.

Once US Airways leaves Star Alliance for One World, you won’t be able to access some airports like Rarotonga.  If you have a trip planned and had earmarked US miles to pay for it, check to see if it will be accessible using One World carriers.  Star Alliance/US Airways also had an edge on awards from North America to Africa, North-east Asia and Central Asia.

WHICH STAR ALLIANCE CARRIER TO USE?

Americans will probably be better off with United since there are several credit cards that can be used to either direct sweep to UA or transfer via Ultimate Rewards.  If you are not an American and can’t get the Chase credit cards, first check what kind of credit cards you CAN get.  Chances are, you may be able to transfer them to another Star Alliance partner such as Thai, Singapore, Lufthansa, ANA, Asiana or Avianca-Taca.

If you can’t get any credit cards,  Avianca-Taca LifeMiles will be the main source of buying miles cheaply to redeem on Star Alliance carriers.  They currently have a share miles 100% bonus promo until the end of Feb but you must have been a member prior to the promo being released.  People who want premium cabin awards may be frustrated if they can’t find the same cabin class all the way through.  You can’t mix classes such as Y from MCI-LAX and J from LAX-BKK for example.  If you only want an economy award, you’d be fine with LifeMiles.

ONE-WORLD IS GOOD FOR ECO-TRAVELERS

Assuming you don’t have other issues such as elite benefits, hub airports and upgrade certificates, the change can be positive for most eco-travelers.  One World does cover most of the places we want to go.  LAN and new partner TAM (soon to be One-World) have South America pretty well covered and can even get you directly from Australia to South America without having to transit the USA.   Qantas can get you to anywhere in Australia, several places in New Zealand and many Pacific Islands.  New partner Malaysian and original One-World member Cathay Pacific can get you between Europe and Asia/Pacific.  Qatar and Sri Lankan are joining soon.  AA also has non-alliance partners of interest such as Air Tahiti Nui, Air Pacific and Etihad.   PLUS, once the miles are merged, you will be able to use your hard-earned US miles for one-way awards!

THE BAD NEWS

The merger puts the last nail in the coffin of the US Grand Slam promo that netted some of us huge amounts of miles at a very low cost between 2008-2011.  They didn’t have it last year but we could only hope for 2013 – well hope no more!

US has traditionally had 100% bonus miles on buying miles several times a year.  AA has been more conservative with only 30-50% bonus on buying miles and they have it tiered so if you only need a few to top up to an award level, it could be as low as 10% bonus.  If you want to top up your US account now, there is a targeted promo to US Mastercard holders for 100% bonus and 50% bonus to everyone else.

If you want the US Mastercard, better get it now.  The current best offer is this one.  The Chairman’s offer which had the 10,000 anniversary bonus miles was pulled today.  We don’t know if this card will be churnable going forward so will have to monitor the FlyerTalk thread for new data.

If you have upcoming hotel bookings and/or car rentals you plan on crediting to an airline, check the offers on both AA and US for the best deal.

Sharebuilder is currently offering 2500 US miles for new accounts.  Most of us already did this one for the last Grand Slam in 2011 but if you haven’t done it yet, might as well grab some cheap miles.  Use the portal from the US page.

TIME TO ASSESS YOUR TRAVEL PLANS

The likely timeline for full integration has been posted by several people, this one on FlyerTalk sounds pretty logical to me.  Star Alliance awards will be more expensive on United Mileage Plus or Avianca-Taca LifeMiles than they are in US Dividend Miles.  Size up your travel plans and see if it’s worth doing  them sooner rather than later or if it would work better in your favour to wait until the phase where they let you move miles back and forth between the two programs for a few months.  Miles To The Wild will be keeping you updated with any new developments as they are released.

 

 

 

Getting To Puerto Rico Using Miles

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Yesterday, I blogged about the Parrot Lovers Cruise.  Today, I am going to show you how to get to SJU airport in Puerto Rico FOR FREE using credit card bonuses so you can join this wonderful cruise.  Well not exactly “free” there are about $10 worth of taxes to pay.  If you are unable to travel at that time, this post is still worth reading as the advice would be valid for any trip between the USA and Puerto Rico.

OPTION 1 – AMERICAN AADVANTAGE

You need 25,000 miles per person or a total of 50,000 miles for a couple.  You can get these miles for free by getting the Citibank AAdvantage credit card.  Only one person in the couple has to get the card but if you both have good credit, you should both get one.  I have general airline credit card advice for Americans.   See below a sample screen with random dates near the cruise and allowing for at least 1 day layover in San Juan before the cruise.  There are several options for Citibank cards so choose one from this Flyertalk post which best meets your needs.  Remember, the cruise itself will take up about $800-ish per person of your minimum spending for a couple, then just put your groceries and bills on the card to make it up.  Both people can get 40,000 miles after a $1000 spend with this offer.

LAX-SJU

OPTION 2 – US AIRWAYS

The dates for this cruise have only medium and high level awards available so you need 60,000 miles per person.  But for future reference, low level awards can be had for 35,000 miles round trip if you are lucky with dates.  These lower awards are capacity controlled.   If you have the US Airways Mastercard, you get a 5000 miles discount if you fly on US Airways but not if you use a partner award.  The current best offer gives you 40,000 for first spend, extra 10,000 for balance transfer and 10,000 each year anniversary bonus.

JFK-SJU

Credit card discount

OPTION 3 – UNITED AIRLINES

I randomly chose Seattle as the departure city and plugged in some sample dates to see a schedule and award rate to San Juan.  This award valid for any US city would require 70,000 miles for 2 people.  There is a credit card that would do this for you.  If you have miles in your United account already, log in and you should see an ad to apply for the Chase United Explorer Visa on the home page.  If you pretend you are making a booking and get a fare quote, the offer will increase to 50,000 miles plus 5000 to add an authorized user plus $100 statement credit.  Ideally, both people should sign up for this offer.  You will have to make a minimum spend of $1000 per person/card which is easily done with normal household spending and the cost of the cruise.

UA Award

SEA-SJU

OPTION 4 – BRITISH AIRWAYS AVIOS

This option works best if you live in the east coast USA and have a non-stop flight to SJU on AA from MIA, JFK or ORD.  Awards are based on distance so use the Great Circle mapper tool to determine distance.

Distances

Then use the Avios chart to see how many Avios you need.

Avios Chart

You can get Avios by applying for the Chase British Airways Visa.  The current best offer is 50,000 Avios after $1000 minimum spend with other bonuses for larger spends.  For most couples, the 50,000 will be enough to get you from east coast USA to San Juan.

So now that you see how easy it is to get to San Juan for free just from getting one credit card per couple or at most one credit card per person, you need a place to stay in San Juan.  In tomorrow’s blog, I will show you how to use other credit cards to get free hotel nights to rest up before your cruise and have some fun exploring Puerto Rico.