Top 8 Airline Miles Programs – 2016 Edition

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Tara

I last made my recommendations of which airline miles programs to join back in 2012 so with all the changes I think it’s time for an update! Which programs are still good? Which ones no longer exist? Which ones are less valuable than before? How can Australians and Americans get free miles from credit cards? Read on!

WHAT MAKES A PROGRAM “GOOD”?

I attribute greater value to programs which require minimal outlay of cash (no fuel surcharges) and better opportunities to get miles from everyday credit card spend and sign up bonuses.
“Buy miles 100% bonus” deals may have value to people who have cash to outlay but since this is a guide for cash poor people who want to travel I am not including them here.
These recommendations are for eco-tourists so I haven’t considered luxury travel to Europe and Asia redemptions.
Free miles from E-Rewards is a plus.
I have not taken elite programs into account in any of the below programs.
I am not a credit blogger so please use other resources to find the best deals on sign up bonuses.

1. American Airlines AAdvantage – One World member

Has more options between USA and Australia on Qantas, Air Pacific or Air Tahiti Nui, also great for LAN or AA to South America and Africa via Qatar or direct QF flights. Can book several of their partners online with AA planning to add more as they go along. One way awards at half round trip rates. Save AA miles for long hauls if possible, use BA for short haul. No fuel surcharges except BA and IB awards. E-Rewards participant.

Americans get miles from Citibank co-branded cards and the grandfathered Barclays Aviator cards (not available to new applicants). You can also transfer points from SPG best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus.

Australians get miles by transferring preferably blocks of 40k Amex MR points to get 20k SPG, then blocks of 20k SPG to get 5k bonus.

2. United Airlines Mileage Plus – Star Alliance member

Good for awards to South-east Asia on UA, SQ & TG; Central & South America on Copa & Avianca and Africa on South African, Ethiopian and Egypt Air. Also very good for intra-Latin America and intra-Africa. E-Rewards participant.

Americans get miles easily via Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards and co-branded United Explorer card.

Australians have a much harder time getting miles as the SPG route is a poor value at 20k SPG gets 10k United plus bonus of 2500. Most Aussies will find Singapore a better Star Alliance partner.

3. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer– Star Alliance member.

Don’t keep miles in here if you can’t use them within 3 years because they expire whether you have activity or not. Be careful of fuel surcharges on Asian routes. Good for redemptions on NZ between Australia and Pacific islands & redemptions on Avianca & Copa for Central/South America trips as no fuel surcharges.

Americans get miles from Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards, Citibank Thank You cards, American Express Membership Rewards & SPG.

Australians get miles from American Express Membership Rewards 1000:1000 and transferable rewards programs from Westpac and ANZ.

4. British Airways Avios and Iberia Avios– One World members

Same Avios currency but you need to join both BA and IB’s versions to maximize it. Pretty easy to earn Avios via E-Rewards and can also credit stays at Accor hotels to Iberia’s program and transfer easily between BA and IB. Not a great program for long haul or itineraries needing connections but excellent for short haul within South America on partner LAN, the BA-Comair flights within Southern Africa or within Australia on partner Qantas. Some nice 5th freedom flights in the Caribbean – Trinidad to St Lucia gets you between 2 islands with good birding.

Americans get miles from Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards and co-branded British Airways card. You can also transfer points from SPG best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus.

Australians get miles by transferring preferably blocks of 40k Amex MR points to get 20k SPG, then blocks of 20k SPG to get 5k bonus. Aussies need to use a European or American address as they don’t accept memberships with Australian addresses.

5. Flying Blue – Sky Team member

Be careful as most redemptions here attract fuel surcharges. Flying Blue can get you some places that are otherwise very difficult to get to such as Kenya Airways flights to Madagascar and Garuda domestic Indonesia flights (no surcharges). Also use on short haul flights on Gol, Aerolinas Argentinas (no surcharges) and some other interesting partners. Participates in E-Rewards. Miles expire after 20 months of when they were earned unless you credit a Sky Team flight to Flying Blue. Non-flying activities such as credit card spend and E-Rewards don’t renew your expiration date.

Americans get miles from Citibank Thank You cards & Amex Membership Rewards. You can also transfer points from SPG best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus.

Australians get miles by transferring preferably blocks of 40k Amex MR points to get 20k SPG, then blocks of 20k SPG to get 5k bonus.

6. Virgin Velocity – Not in an alliance.

Good for short-haul to New Zealand and Pacific islands, domestic Australia flights and sometimes long haul to USA and Asia. Participates in E-Rewards.

Americans get miles from transfering SPG points best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus. You need an Aussie address to join.

Australians have numerous credit cards (basically every bank in Australia) that earn Velocity points directly or transfer there. Keep an eye out for huge sign on bonuses which have greatly improved in the last year or so. There is a new partnership with BP to get 2 points per litre with occasional targeted bonuses.

7. Etihad Guest – Not in an alliance

I never looked twice at this program until they partnered up with Flybuys. I did a recent review with Aussies in mind (sorry Americans) and found some interesting options with partners and decent value to Africa. Probably not a good program for Americans to join, better to use AA redemptions on Etihad awards. Beware of miles expiring after 2 years, don’t transfer them until you are within booking range. Activity does not renew the expiration.

Americans get miles from Citibank Thank You cards. You can also transfer points from SPG best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus.

Australians get miles from American Express Membership Rewards 1000:1000 and the new Flybuys partnership FB 10,000: EY 4000.

8. Qantas Frequent Flyer – One World member

Use for domestic Australia or short-haul to NZ, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Has fuel surcharges on most routes with the possible exception of LAN intra-South America.

Americans get points from Citibank Thank You cards.

Australians get points from co-branded Qantas cards, just about every bank in Australia has them. Unfortunately the Woolies and Optus partnerships are gone so much harder to get points now outside of credit cards.

Obviously not everyone needs to use ALL these programs. It depends on where you want to go. Situations change so you need to be constantly evaluating. A month ago I wouldn’t have considered Etihad Guest but now I can see getting at least 16,000 free miles each year just by grocery shopping at Coles and using bonuses. From the previous list US Airways Dividend Miles is gone and the Avianca Lifemiles program is no longer as valuable as it once was due to devaluations. It is no longer so easy to get Qantas miles as they eliminated their best “every day spending” partners. American may lose it’s #1 position if they devalue their awards. I say as long as it’s free to join a program, then do so as you never know what deals may come in the future!

20% Bonus On SPG Transferred To AA Extended Through 31 Aug

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Tara

Good news especially for Aussies who rely on Amex MR to SPG then to AA to build up their accounts! This is the best way to get award flights on OneWorld members without the ridiculous YQ surcharges that Qantas imposes!

Offer Extended! Earn more miles toward your next trip with the American Airlines AAdvantage^® and Starwood Preferred Guest^® programs.

Now through August 31, 2015, convert your Starpoints^® to AAdvantage miles and earn a 20% bonus on the amount of AAdvantage miles you receive from the conversion.

As always, for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred within the same transaction, SPG^® will automatically add another 5,000 Starpoints.

With the additional 20% mileage bonus offered by the AAdvantage program, you’ll receive 30,000 miles from the transaction.

20,000 Starpoints = 20,000 AAdvantage miles
5,000 Standard SPG bonus = 5,000 AAdvantage miles
AAdvantage 20% mileage bonus = 5,000 AAdvantage miles
Total = 30,000 AAdvantage miles

Converting your Starpoints into AAdvantage miles will bring you closer to reaching your dream destination faster.

Convert now >>

Terms and Conditions

SPG 50% Bonus When Transferring To AAdvantage

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Tara

This promo will be especially welcome if you aren’t American and can’t get the AAdvantage co-branded credit cards. If you have an Aussie Amex MR you can change 40k MR to 20k SPG, then transfer then to 30k AAdvantage. We still don’t know what the AAdvantage program will look like when the dust settles after the merger so don’t go too crazy. Just transfer enough to cover your needs for the next 18-24 months. I’m only transferring 40k Amex this time just in case J space opens up on next year’s plans.

Converting your Starpoints into AAdvantage miles will bring you closer to reaching your dream destination faster.

Convert now >>

Terms and Conditions:

AAdvantage^® Bonus Mile Offer Terms and Conditions

To qualify for this AAdvantage^® bonus mile offer, member must initiate the AAdvantage mileage conversions with the Starwood Preferred Guest^® program between 12:00 am Central time July 1, 2015 and 11:59 pm Central time August 7, 2015 (the “Promotion Period”), and be in good standing in the AAdvantage program. Members can convert multiple times during the Promotion Period.

To earn the 20% conversion bonus, member must convert points from the Starwood Preferred Guest program. This offer is non-transferable and non-reversible.

Bonus miles will be posted by American Airlines to the qualifying AAdvantage member’s account within 7 business days after the initial conversion activity has been posted by Starwood Preferred Guest. Bonus miles earned in this promotion do not count toward elite status qualification.

American Airlines, AAdvantage, the Flight Symbol logo and MileSAAver are marks of American Airlines, Inc.

Starwood Guest Preferred Transfer to Miles Terms and Conditions

Starwood Preferred Guests can transfer up to 79,999 of their Starpoints^® per transaction per program within a 24-hour period to the American Airlines AAdvantage^® program. Plus, for every 20,000 Starpoints transferred within the same transaction, Starwood will automatically add another 5,000 Starpoints! This means that up to 94,999 Starpoints can be transferred into your AAdvantage account.

There is no minimum Starpoint transfer requirement for Platinum Preferred Guest members. Gold Preferred Guest members have a minimum transfer requirement of 1,500 Starpoints, and Preferred Guest members have a minimum transfer requirement of 2,500 Starpoints.

Transfer maximums are based on a combination of member Starpoints and the Starwood Preferred Guest airline transfer transaction bonus. Only one airline transfer transaction per member per 24 hour period is allowed; multiple transfer transactions within the same 24 hour period will reject. Both the Starwood Preferred Guest and AAdvantage account must have identical member names in order to complete this request; different names will cause the transfer to reject. Airline transfers are one-way, non-reversible, and non-refundable.

New Routes To Australia & Ghana From USA

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Tara

Two new routes open up more exciting eco-travel opportunities for miles and points collectors! The whole miles and points world is talking about the new routes from California to Sydney. American Airlines will begin direct service on the busy LAX to SYD route 17 Dec 2015 – just in time for the peak season down under. This will add more potential award seats which for AAdvantage members go for 37,000 in Y, 62,500 in J. Since it does commence during peak season, I don’t expect there to be much award availability until perhaps Feb 2016. At least AAdvantage members will have a fighting chance to get J awards since they will have the same access as any OneWorld member!

Qantas is re-launching SFO to SYD service from 20 Dec 2015. Economy awards are generally easy to get but premium class award on QF have always been as rare as hen’s teeth. At least it’s another connecting point and once you are in SYD you can use the same award to get anywhere in Australia you want. I have a guide on planning a birding adventure using Western Australia as an example.

If you collect Star Alliance miles/United Mileage Plus, there’s good news for you too! South African Airways is adding a stop in Accra, Ghana enroute to JNB. This makes a nice birding itinerary similar to what I did last year.

Free 1000 AA Miles For Short Quiz

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Tara

This expires 12 June so don’t leave these free easy miles sitting on the table!

Just Returned From Thailand & Malaysia, Recap Of Miles & Points News While We Were Gone, 1000 Free AA Miles

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Tara

Over the last month it may have looked like business as usual at MTTW because I scheduled a pre-written post to appear each day. But we spent most of April in Thailand and Malaysia for a relaxed birding trip with plenty of R&R time in Chiang Mai and Koh Samui while maximising a United Airlines award between Australia and South-East Asia. Then we went to see my husband’s friends & family in the Cook Islands (which also have great birding on some of the islands like Aitutaki & Atiu).

I’ll start blogging about this trip as soon as my series on Africa is finished. This will be our only overseas trip this year as we have some much needed home renovations to take care of but we will do a short road trip for birding in Outback Queensland later this year. And there’s no rest for the wicked as I need to get flights for the very extensive trip to Ecuador, Colombia, Caribbean and USA in 2016 booked before AA devalues their program so the race is on!

MILES AND POINTS NEWS FROM APRIL 2015

There have been huge changes that happened in the miles and points world while we were gone.

The Club Carlson Visa devalued by losing the last night free benefit. You have until 1 June to book an award night that gets the 2nd night free. This was somewhat expected as the bonus was unsustainable but disappointing still. I had used this quite a bit in places like Panama, Tahiti, Port Elizabeth, Israel & France. I also discovered that my planned redemption for next year is no longer available since the San Juan Radisson closed down so I need to figure out what to do with my remaining Club Carlson points. They just don’t seem to have properties where we plan to travel! I just paid my annual fee on this card but called in to complain and got 7500 points compensation. But next year I’ll be saying Adios to Club Carlson and this card.

Chase Ink lost the Lounge Club benefit. This is not a deal breaker because of the 5x feature on office supply stores, internet, phones, etc but disappointing as we did use these lounges in BKK and PVG to get free internet and snacks in airports we otherwise didn’t have access to lounges as we flew economy this trip. Our Lounge Club memberships expire end of July and they won’t extend them to end April 2016 so we can use them next year. Best I can do is reapply and hope they give us new cards but it’s a punt at best. 30 April 2015 is the last date to apply.

British Airways Avios devalued which doesn’t really affect most of us as the best use of Avios – short haul economy redemptions is still the same.

Southwest Airlines devalued in some markets. This airline was previously just a domestic US carrier so of limited interest to eco-tourists but they are expanding to the Caribbean and Central America. Since they fly to SJU they are on my radar for the trip next year. My dummy runs shows scarce availability for award tickets using AA or UA miles between SJU and the mainland USA so I need to have alternatives in mind.

And just to end things on a positive note – AA is giving 1000 free miles just for watching some videos about the program and answering some easy questions. Experienced miles & pointers will already know the answers and can scroll ahead through the video. Newbies should watch the videos, it only takes 10 minutes and does give a nice synopsis of the program.

A Nostalgic Look Back At US Airways Dividend Miles

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Tara

Today is the day the programs merge. It’s the 28th of March in Australia and now also in around half of the USA. Soon we will wake up with increased AAdvantage balances and the US Airways Dividend Miles (USDM) program will be history. I can’t help but think back fondly on all the opportunities we never would have had without it. USDM was the game-changer that put extravagant premium class awards within reach of the ordinary person who had little money but was willing to put in some time and effort.

I never was a big player in the miles and points games until 2008. It always seemed to me that the best benefits were always for those who traveled a lot – actual FREQUENT flyers and were elites. I booked our trips on the cheapest routes although trying to use Star Alliance programs as much as possible as we were collecting United Miles. If we managed a free trip from BNE to RAR or PPT every 2 or 3 years we were happy.

GAMING THE GAME-CHANGER

Then United started blocking partner awards – Starnet – and I had to look for an alternative. Right around this time, one of the best ways for people to earn miles without spending money was playing Live Search Club games. I was already playing for our AAdvantage accounts so it was a natural step to add a few more accounts and start playing for US Dividend Miles. Anyone remember Chicktionary?

LSC was a great little earner while it lasted. An anagram-solver and a desk in front of the tv was all I needed to rake in around 4000 miles in 4 accounts (mine & husbands – US & AA) roughly every 2 weeks. It was a pretty hot topic on FlyerTalk while it lasted. LSC later morphed into Club Bing and by using a never ending supply of new accounts I was able to keep the miles rolling in for around 18 months until they finally shut down in 2010. But the best was yet to come!

GRAND SLAM PROMO

I was too late for the 2008 Grand Slam but ready and waiting for the 2009 version. There was a whole thread in FlyerTalk dedicated to this killer promo where you could earn 50,000 miles by using USDM’s partners. The game was to use as many free hits as possible or to use purchases you were already making at certain hotels or car rentals to create hits. Then find the cheapest item to buy from partners such as Biscoff spread (yummy!), batteries from SkyMall, screen-wipes from some telephone company, sandwiches from dining partners, GAIAM trees from the mall, churned Netflix accounts and stickers from Track-it-Back. We opened brokerage accounts for $5 with Sharebuilder, bought the cheapest Lifelock packages, swapped miles for magazines. Since I live in Australia, my Mom in California was the lucky recipient for several bouquets of flowers and assorted junk.

In 2010, the Grand Slam upped their game to 100,000 miles and in 2011 they upped it again to 110,000 though the last 4 hits were too hard for me so I had to settle for 100,000.

In the latter years, I would prep for the upcoming Grand Slam by getting hotel points for free by doing Foursquare check-ins, Facebook promos and E-Rewards. The Daily Getaways promos which used to be so much better were also a source for cheap hotel points and Grand Slam hits. I estimate that I paid around $600 between both our accounts that I wouldn’t have spent otherwise to get 200,000 miles between us those last 2 years.

TRACK-IT-BACK TAKES IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Remember those Track-it-back (TIB) stickers I mentioned? They became another game-changer in the 2009 Holiday promo. You had to spend a certain amount with various shopping partners and there were tiers to multiplying the bonus.

In a nutshell, you made the cheapest possible purchases for the first 4 transactions, then the 5th you bought as many TIB stickers as possible and got 100 miles per $! I don’t remember how much I spent, I got as many as I could manage the cash flow for. Some people on FlyerTalk spent $1000’s and got LOTS of miles!

CHURNING THE CREDIT CARD

I only managed to do this twice – once in 2011 and once in 2013. Each time I got 40,000 miles and on the 2nd one it comes with a 10,000 miles anniversary bonus so I’ve kept it. Barclays Bank has since cracked down on churners.

BUY/SHARE MILES PROMOS – UP TO 100% SHARE

The last great way to get USDM relatively cheaply (although not as cheap as Grand Slam & TIB) was to share miles back and forth between two accounts. Obviously this works better for couples than single people unless they knew someone very trustworthy. When the Grand Slam promo didn’t return in 2012 much to everyone’s disappointment, this became the best way to get USDM and on the bright side it worked equally well for people all over the world. You shared miles to your partner, they got double, then they shared back to you and you got double. USDM kept this promo up until last year, then they scaled it back to 50% bonuses.

The best seat I ever got for free from USDM – Turkish Airline’s wetleased Jet Airways plane used the first class suites as business class so if you were clever with your seating assignments you could sit in a suite for the price of a J award!

SO WHAT DID I DO WITH ALL THOSE MILES?

USDM’s fantastic promos allowed us to go places we otherwise had no chance of affording – usually in business class (bolded)!

2011 – BNE-BKK-ICN-LAX-PHX-MEX /-LAX-ICN-BKK-BNE

2011 – BNE-SIN-KTM /-BOM-SIN-BNE

2012 – BNE-AKL-RAR-AKL-BNE

2013 – BNE-BKK-ICN-YVR-IAH-BZE /-HNL-ICN-BKK-BNE

2013 – BNE-BKK-BLR /- CMB-SIN-BNE

2014 – BNE-BKK-IST-TLV /-BCN-ZRH-FCO-PEK-SIN-BNE

And I still have some USDM left to transfer to AA!

In no alternate universe could someone of my economic level even dream of trips like those! USDM and their crazy promos made it all possible! We visited some of the world’s finest eco-tourism locations and saw some amazing birds that we could only dream about before.

So here’s to you, US Airways! It’s been a wild ride the past few years and I am sad that it’s over but really happy and grateful that it happened it all. From the bottom of my heart (and my champagne glass) thanks for the memories!

Getting To Mauritius With Frequent Flyer Miles

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Tara

Although most frequent flyer programs group Mauritius with Africa to determine it’s zone, there are far fewer options because not many airlines fly there.

STAR ALLIANCE

South African Airways is the only Star Alliance member to serve Mauritius so you will have to get to JNB, then connect to Mauritius. Availability on this route isn’t the best and sometimes only available in business class so if you can only afford an economy ticket this won’t work for you.

Assuming you can find availability, one way (double for RT) awards would cost:

NORTH AMERICA – MAURITIUS 40,000 Y 80,000 J

EUROPE – MAURITIUS 30,000 Y 55,000 J

AUSTRALIA – MAURITIUS 50,000 Y 75,000 J

Given the distances involved, it is much better to combine Mauritius with South Africa and have a better chance of finding those elusive seats!

ONEWORLD

The only OneWorld carrier serving Mauritius is British Airways so the best programs to look at are American AAdvantage for long-haul segments and British Airways Avios for short hops from JNB-MRU.

Beware of transiting LHR enroute to Mauritius as the airport taxes can be extremely high. Try to route on QR via DOH or EY via AUH to JNB, then pick up the JNB-MRU on BA. Assuming you can find availability, one way (double for RT) awards would cost:

NORTH AMERICA – MAURITIUS 37,500 Y 62,500 J

EUROPE – MAURITIUS 30,000 Y 37,500 J

AUSTRALIA – MAURITIUS 37,500 Y 50,000 J

American currently offers the best deals on mileage awards to Africa but these rates are unlikely to hold once the merger with US Airways is completed so if Mauritius/Africa is on your bucket list, this is a good time to book your trip!

SKYTEAM

Air France is the only SkyTeam member serving Mauritius but you can use Delta (if anyone is still a member of Delta) to book these awards. If you are using credit card points or transferring from SPG, then Flying Blue is your best bet. All SkyTeam members charge YQ fuel surcharge on these tickets so you are better off using United or American for long haul awards. Here’s a couple examples for a North American award and a European award. Flying Blue won’t let you route from Australia via Europe to Mauritius.

AIR MAURITIUS

Air Mauritius dominates the market. Here is a list of their destinations from MRU.

They are a partner of Air France Flying Blue but they are not a member of SkyTeam. If you want to use Flying Blue miles to book Air Mauritius you will have to call in. I tried on the MRU-TNR (Antananarivo) route but the fuel surcharges were so high it would have been a total waste of SPG points which can be better utilized elsewhere. If you are booking a cash ticket, then Air Mauritius does have a lot of options, keep an eye on their website for specials.

Earn American Airlines AAdvantage Miles With Cadillac

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Tara

I am slowly getting caught up with all the new promos that came in while we were away. This one caught my eye. Unfortunately for me, you need to be in the USA and have a USA driver’s license to do it. But if you do qualify, it’s a pretty painless way to rack up some easy miles!

Terms and Conditions:

*At participating dealers only. Must have an AAdvantage account and be 21 years or older with a valid U.S. driver’s license. Employees of General Motors are not eligible. Retail value: $221.00. Test drive lasts approximately 10 minutes. Offer valid while supplies last. Limit one test drive per person. Allow 4-6 weeks for miles to be awarded after confirmation that test drive has been completed. Offer is nontransferable, nonnegotiable and not redeemable for cash.

**Requires compatible mobile device, active OnStar subscription and data plan. Visit cadillac.com for details and system limitations.

Convert Your Starpoints Into AAdvantage Or US Dividend Miles – Earn 20% Bonus Miles

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Tara

This is one of the best ways especially for Australian Amex MR card holders to get miles in American AAdvantage. Most Aussies can’t get the more lucrative AA & US credit cards so have to resort to the Amex MR transfers to SPG, then on to the US based program.

And now US Airways has jumped on the bandwagon so you have 2 choices.

In a nutshell:

20,000 Starpoints = 20,000 AAdvantage/Dividend miles
Standard SPG bonus = 5,000 AAdvantage/Dividend miles
AAdvantage 20% mileage bonus = 5,000 AAdvantage/Dividend miles
Total = 30,000 AAdvantage/Dividend miles

Since 2 Amex = 1 SPG, 40,000 Aussie Amex MR = 20,000 SPG = 30,000 AAdvantage/Dividend.

Remember that these two programs are set to merge in 2015 and devaluations are expected so don’t convert unless you plan to redeem before then. Otherwise it is best to keep you SPG miles in the flexible SPG program so you maintain a better choice of airlines

AAdvantage Full details and T&C’s

US Airways Full details and T&C’s

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Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

Tag Archives: American AAdvantage