There is a distinct difference between the traditional
airline award programs (United, Delta, American, etc.) and some of the revenue based programs, like we talked about earlier this morning at #FT4RL with Bonnie from the Frugal Travel Lawyer.
Travelers might also need to adjust their expectations of
airline award programs, which for all but hard - core travelers are becoming less generous.
Most
airline award programs separate Mexico from the U.S. in their award charts.
Would American's new management destroy the best
airline awards program or would they play nice?
My first thought was to look at the Singapore
Airlines award program, as they're transfer partners with both Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards.
While this might come as a surprise to many miles & points fans, different people look for different things in
an airline award program.
Not exact matches
Airline frequent flier
programs have become less rewarding over the last few years by offering fewer upgrades to elite fliers and requiring more miles than ever for
award tickets.
With Singapore
Airlines» KrisFlyer
program, we have our best Star Alliance partner option for booking
award flights to Hawaii on United
Airlines.
When you join the
award - winning Alaska
Airlines Mileage Plan ™
program, you have a wide range of options to quickly earn
airline miles that will get you closer to your next dream getaway.
Airline frequent flyer
programs have their good times and their bad times, and no one wants to earn miles with a carrier that suddenly decides to devalue their miles or change their
awards requirements.
In addition to booking
award nights at related properties, Starpoints can also be transferred to a number of
airline partner loyalty
programs.
In addition, several of the major hotel
programs are featured, and transfers from this
program are virtually instantaneous, allowing you to book
airline tickets or
award nights at hotels that you found before the availability disappears.
Step 6: Once the points transfer is complete, you can use the selected
airline loyalty
program to book your
award flight.
These
programs also feature partnerships with
airlines, hotels and other travel brands permitting cardholders to transfer their points to be used in lieu of loyalty
awards.
Japan
Airlines» Mileage Bank
program provides the cheapest option at 42,000 miles for a one - way business class
award ticket.
All Marriott hotels participate in the
award winning Marriott Rewards frequent travel
program that allows members to earn hotel points or
airline miles for every dollar spent during each stay.
Courtyard hotels proudly participate in the
award - winning Marriott Rewards ® frequent travel
program that allows members to earn hotel points or
airline miles for every dollar spent during each stay.
Co-branded
airline or hotel cards will allow you to directly use your miles to redeem
award flights or stays through the loyalty
program connected to the card.
Take a breeze through the number of
Award Travel subreddit guides to educate yourself on all the transfer
programs offered by
airlines.
United's MileagePlus
program offers
award flights on a wide variety of partner
airlines, and there are plenty of ways to stretch those miles even further.
United
Airlines» MileagePlus
program is a great way to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book
award flights to London.
But the best benefit of this card is the 10 percent redemption rebate
program: Every time you book an
award flight using your American
Airlines miles, the
airline will give you back 10 percent of the miles you spent, up to 10,000 miles per calendar year.
The concept is simple enough, but every
airline differs in its
program management, accrual schedule, and redemption availability for
award flights.
For the most part, you'll be
awarded miles faster when making purchases with a participating credit card than with the
airline or hotel's loyalty
program directly.
A great way to use Membership Rewards points: Overall a great way to get value out of points you've accrued is by taking advantage of the loyalty
program transfer, which allows you to convert Membership Rewards into an
airline or hotels loyalty
awards.
Best
Award — Cathay Pacific — Asia Miles Best
Award Redemption — Air New Zealand — Airpoints Best Bonus Promotion — Thai Airways — Royal Orchid Plus Best Customer Service — American
Airlines — AAdvantage Best Elite Level — Northwest
Airlines — WorldPerks Best Member Communications — Emirates — Skywards Best Website — Emirates — Skywards
Program of the Year — Emirates — Skywards
Program of the Year — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Elite
Program — American
Airlines — AAdvantage Best Promotion — Avianca — LifeMiles Best Customer Service — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Redemption Ability — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards 210
AWARD — Avianca — LifeMiles
Best
Award — Virgin Blue Velocity Best
Award Redemption — Virgin Blue Velocity Best Bonus Promotion — Kingfisher
Airlines — King Club Best Customer Service — Kingfisher
Airlines — King Club Best Elite Level — Jet Airways — Jet Privilege Best Member Communications — Virgin Blue Velocity Best Website — Virgin Blue Velocity
Program of the Year — Virgin Blue Velocity
Program of the Year — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Elite
Program — American
Airlines — AAdvantage Best Promotion — Southwest Rapid Rewards Best Customer Service — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Redemption Ability — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards 210
AWARD — Avianca — LifeMiles
In addition, the
programs that offer transfers to
airline miles and hotel points can be great for
award travel enthusiasts who really know how to get the most value from different frequent flyer
programs.
They offer the most flexibility because you don't need to deal with
award flights (booking flights with points / miles) or
airline loyalty
programs.
Best
Award — Continental
Airlines — OnePass Best
Award Redemption — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Bonus Promotion — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Customer Service — Midwest Express
Airlines — Frequent Flyer Best Elite Level — Continental
Airlines — OnePass Best Member Communications — Aeromexico — Club Premier Best Website — Continental
Airlines — OnePass
Program of the Year — Continental
Airlines — OnePass
Program of the Year — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Elite
Program — American
Airlines — AAdvantage Best Promotion — Avianca — LifeMiles Best Customer Service — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Redemption Ability — Avianca — LifeMiles 210
AWARD — Avianca — LifeMiles
The Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card is one of the few cards where you transfer your accumulated points to select loyalty
programs to help top off
awards bookings at the respective hotel chain or
airline.
Best
Award — America West
Airlines — FlightFund Best
Award Redemption — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Bonus Promotion — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Customer Service — Southwest
Airlines — Rapid Rewards Best Elite Level — America West
Airlines — FlightFund Best Member Communications — Alaska
Airlines — Mileage Plan Best Website — Alaska
Airlines — Mileage Plan
Program of the Year — Alaska
Airlines — Mileage Plan
Lastly, you should also know that whenever you transfer your miles to an
airline or hotel
program, you may have to contend with two new factors: blackout dates and
award seat / night availability.
In our prior research on
airline loyalty
programs, what we've found is that the best time to use your
awards points are for last minute trips.
Like many
airline loyalty
programs, Etihad Guest Miles can be redeemed for
awards.
Together, the
airlines that are part of the Miles & More
program service a wide variety of destinations all over the world, which leaves no shortage of
award redemption choices.
If you can find
award space on Delta or Alaska
Airlines on the outbound flight but not on the dates you need to return, you could book a one - way
award with Flying Blue and a one - way
award on United
Airlines or American
Airlines with another
program.
Korean Air SkyPass requires 45,000 miles for a round - trip business class
award ticket which is 15,000 miles fewer than the next closest
program, Singapore
Airlines.
With Singapore
Airlines» KrisFlyer
program, we have our best Star Alliance partner option for booking
award flights to Hawaii on United
Airlines.
The American
Airlines AAdvantage loyalty
program is a revenue - based
program where miles are
awarded based on the cost of the airfare as opposed to mileage flown.
Flying Blue was recently voted «European
airline program of the year» at the annual Freddie
Awards, a preeminent honor for travel loyalty
programs.
The Chase Ultimate Rewards
program is ideal for people looking to get into the mileage game fast and strong, or as a supplement to
airline programs for serious travel hackers juggling multiple - miles credit cards and multiple
awards programs.
You may be able to find
award availability for those
airlines on the Flying Blue website (the KLM and Air France frequent flyer
program) or by calling Delta Reservations.
And there are some good values in their
award chart where you'll save miles compared to booking through other
airlines» frequent flyer
programs.
Landing a premium class
award ticket in First or Business class on Singapore has traditionally been a difficult task for North American points and miles collectors due to the common Singapore
Airlines practice of offering first and business class
award space almost solely to members of their own KrisFlyer
program.
Program of the Year (Rapid Rewards ®), Best Loyalty Credit Card, Best
Airline Redemption Ability — 2017 Freddie
Awards
Don't forget that each
airline and hotel have partners that either allow you to book through the same loyalty
program or transfer points to other
programs to book
awards as well.