Category Archives: Miles and Points

Don’t Get Too Excited About The Etihad 25% Bonus

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At least not if you are Australian!  Etihad is running one of it’s 25% bonus points when you transfer your partner points to Etihad Guest Miles.  Unfortunately, the main partners we would be using are specifically excluded – Amex Membership Rewards & Flybuys.

 

  • The offer is valid for all Points to Miles conversions made between 1 July and 31 July both days inclusive.

  • Participating points conversion partners: Accor Hotels, ADCB, Radisson Blu, Citibank, Emirates Islamic Bank, Heathrow Rewards, Hilton Honors, Hyatt, IHG, Joyalukkas, Marriott Rewards, NBAD, Shangri-La.

  • Non participating points conversion partners: HSBC, Etisalat Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards (All regions), Starwood StarPoints and Flybuys Rewards.

Full T&Cs here.  This is a good deal if you have Citi Thank You points but only if you plan to use the miles before they expire.

 

American AAdvantage Announces Program 2016-2017

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If you are accruing miles from credit cards or “buy miles get bonus promos” then relax – nothing has changed!  American already devalued the award chart which came into effect in March 2016 so they are unlikely to mess with it for at least a couple years.

The new changes effect mileage accrual on paid tickets and the elite program so if this applies to you, check out the details.

Velocity Adds Whopping Surcharges To Etihad Redemptions

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On top of the most recent devaluation in which Virgin Velocity moved Etihad to the more expensive chart and jacked the prices up as of 1 June…………..now we have this shock-horror “enhancement”.

All Reward Seat bookings on Etihad Airways operated flights made from 18 June 2016 will incur an Etihad Airways Reward Seat Carrier Charge.

A charge of US$50 in Economy, US$205 in Business and US$300 in First Class will be applicable per flight sector for both adults and children. A reduced charge of US$5 in Economy, US$20.50 in Business and US$30 in First Class will be applicable per flight sector for infants not occupying a seat.

This charge will be payable when completing your Reward Seat booking.

I already spent my last Velocity points on an award from Australia to Abu Dhabi for next year.  We will be stopping over a couple days before the big “Godmother of all African Adventures” and I got business class since I knew the devaluations were coming anyway.  Looks like I dodged another bullet with these surcharges!  Yikes!

Lesson learned – don’t hoard miles, spend them as soon as you can because they will never be worth more than they are today.

Chase Adds Flying Blue As A Partner – Good Options For Africa

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I know every blogger and his brother has posted about Chase’s new rewards partner but I thought I would draw attention to the good deals to be found on Kenya Airways which is a Flying Blue member.  Flying Blue is one of my Top 8 programs for eco-travellers for a reason. Paying for flights within Africa can be very expensive.

For example Accra to Lusaka would cost $500-600 cash but only 15,000 Flying Blue miles plus surcharges of around $202 USD (most of which is airport tax, not YQ).

I have my eye on a Dubai-EBB (Entebbe/Kampala Uganda) for 20k Flying Blue per person for next year!

Velocity 15% Bonus Promo – Ends 31 May

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For the last few years, the month of May has been a great opportunity for people to boost their Virgin Australia Velocity points when transferring points from various Australian banks.  For more details, T&C’s and links to the banks, click the image.

Barely back from South America, I still need to plan for Africa next year and Velocity points can be used on Etihad & South African Airways which suit my needs!

Velocity 15

Transfer your points to Velocity between 1 May and 31 May 2016 and receive 15% bonus Velocity Points. You’ll enter a new world of rewards, including flights to over 600 destinations and award-winning Reward Seat availability^.

Singapore Airlines Adds Premium Economy As Redemption Option

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This is good news for those who don’t have enough miles for a business class redemption but would like a little more comfort than economy.  But in most cases from Australia. the difference between economy & premium economy vs premium economy and business are enough that I still suggest you go for business class awards if you have/can get the miles.  SQ miles are relatively easy to get with American Express Membership Rewards and several other Aussie bank issued cards transferable to SQ.  Remember, you get a 15% discount for awards on Singapore Airlines & Silk Air booked online!

The updated Singapore Airlines award charts – Australia is split between zone 8 & 9.

Full text of SQ’s Announcement

Best Uses Of Flexible Points (USA) For Eco-tourists

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I’m a big fan of flexible points because they give so many options for flights to the more remote, exotic locations eco-tourists want to visit.  Here are a few of my favourite uses.

CHASE ULTIMATE REWARDS

Flex Chase UR

Mostly I transfer points to United as the award chart is still pretty good to get to Asia and Africa.  They are also useful for routes within Central & South America on Avianca & Copa.  Singapore Krisflyer can be used for the same routes as United as they are also Star Alliance but beware of surcharges on routes between Australia & Asia & Africa.  I use British Airways for shorthaul economy within South Africa and on LAN flights in South America.

CITIBANK THANK YOU POINTS

Flex Citi Thankyou

I’ve been using Thank You points mostly on Flying Blue for an upcoming redemption on Kenya Airways within Africa.  They can also be used on Garuda to many birding hotspots in Indonesia.

AMEX MEMBERSHIP REWARDS (USA)

Flex Amex MR

I had a Premier Rewards Gold a few years ago and made good use of the points with a transfer to Flying Blue for Kenya Airways redemptions.  A few stray Amex MR also went to Singapore & British Airways.  You can only get any American Express card bonus once in a lifetime so I won’t be getting this card again.  I cancelled the one I had before the annual fee was due.  Considering that other cards also transfer to most of these partners and Amex isn’t as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard, this would be a last resort card to get.  The Australian version of the Membership Rewards cards is a better option (for my Australian readers) as there aren’t as many cards to compete with it.

SPG

Flex SPG

SPG points are extremely valuable as they have so many airline partners but unfortunately their credit card is issued by American Express and it’s another one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” cards.  I’ve highlighted the partners I use them on and they were extremely useful transferred to LAN to top up the miles from the LAN Visa so we could get free tickets to the Galapagos.  When Starwood is merged into Marriott, these options are likely to go away.

Doing Surveys Can Get You A Free (Or Discounted) Stay In Kakadu

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The Accor chain has 2 hotels in Kakadu National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Kakadu Lodge Cooinda

Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel

Here’s a quote for a date chosen at random for both properties.

Accor Kakadu

Le Club Accor has two survey partners where you earn points that can be transferred to Le Club and redeemed on these and most of Accor’s properties worldwide.

E-REWARDS

Accor Erewards2

Opinion points are used in all countries except the USA, where $ are used.Accor Erewards

CLUB OPINIONS

They pay per survey and the points usually credit within 48 hours.  These are useful to top off your account to get to a 2000 point level needed to redeem EUR 40.

Accor Opinions

The best way to maximize this is to have each person do surveys on their own account and book nights from each account.  For example if I can get 4000 Le Club points and my husband gets 2000 points, I will book one night and get am EUR 80 discount, he will book the 2nd night and get EUR 40 off.

With E-Rewards, you also get a wide variety of airline transfer partners so you can keep doing surveys after your Kakadu trip and take your choice of transfer partners!

 

Up To 3500 Bonus UA Miles For Dining Out (USA Only)

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Do you live in the USA and love dining out at restaurants?  Then this promo from United Mileage Plus is exactly what you are looking for!

UA Dining

You get the first 1000 miles simply by joining and filling out your profile whether you dine out or not.  I am not sure if non-USA people can do this as I used a USA address when I joined several years ago under a similar promo.  All restaurants are in the USA so you won’t get the miles unless you make a trip over there.

Be sure to read the full T&Cs on their website.

I wouldn’t start dining out if it wasn’t my habit to do so just for this promo but if it’s something you are going to do anyways, you might as well get miles for it!