Unless you really need some Hilton points, save your ThankYou Points for transfers to
airline partners so you can get more value out of them.
Each program partners with a number of
airline partners so that you can transfer the points directly to an airline to book award flights.
Etihad is an American
Airlines partner so you can use Etihad Guest miles for travel on American and, somewhat strangely, the Etihad award chart for travel on American Airlines is more generous than American's own award chart (click to enlarge):
Not exact matches
So far Empyr's
partners include Microsoft, LivingSocial, Virgin
Airlines, and over 10,000 other businesses.
Southwest
Airlines does not have first class seats or worldwide
airline partners,
so many of the elite benefits of other
airline programs are not relevant.
You can chose to redeem points at a number of travel
partners,
so you don't need to worry about being loyal to a single
airline or hotel.
«We've said we're not going to be limited by the geographies we operate in,
so we are targeting distribution
partners in the
airline industry around the world,» he said.
With
so many
airline partners, you'll never lack for transfer options... and that might not even be the best part of transferring Starpoints to
airlines!
«I expect the
airlines, as key
partner stakeholders who helped produce the recommendations to relax current restrictions, to move quickly
so that Americans flying for the holidays no longer face restrictions that make no sense.»
American
Airlines is part of the oneworld alliance,
so if you're going somewhere American doesn't fly, you can use your AA miles to book flights on any of its
partners.
There are
partners that all of the transferrable programs are aligned with, such as Singapore
Airlines so you could technically transfer in from all 4 (Chase, Citi, SPG, Amex).
ANA Mileage Club does pass on carrier - imposed surcharges when booking award tickets with many
partners, but not on flights with United
Airlines,
so you won't have to worry about that when flying to London.
It's great to have choices when it comes to redemption options,
so having the ability to transfer miles earned on your card to
airline partners is positive in that respect.
Also, Southwest does not
partner with any other carriers,
so your Rapid Rewards points will only be redeemable through this
airline.
Many of the major carriers are part of
airline alliances that allow you to carry over the same status you enjoy with your primary
airline,
so that even when you fly on
partner airlines, you will enjoy the same perks and rewards for your paid travel that you have with your
airline of choice.
So long as the alternative flights are operated by the
airline whose miles you redeemed, not a
partner, it will be able to open up award space in response to a schedule change that affected your reservations.
Also, these
partner awards sometimes don't appear on the
airline's website,
so you'll have to call to book these awards.
With
so many
airline partners, you'll never lack for transfer options... and that might not even be the best part of transferring Starpoints to
airlines!
Bottom Line: Our # 1 recommended strategy to accrue (lots of) Singapore KrisMiles is by collecting Chase points because they're
so easy to earn, and can also be transferred to many other
airline and hotel
partners.
Southwest
Airlines does not have first class seats or worldwide
airline partners,
so many of the elite benefits of other
airline programs are not relevant.
It's
partnered with Delta and American
Airlines, so you may prefer this if you frequently fly those a
Airlines,
so you may prefer this if you frequently fly those
airlinesairlines.
You can use your miles to also book travel with one of 13 other
airline partners, though you will generally have less available dates to chose from by doing
so - at that point it'd be better to just have a credit card earning you miles with those
airlines you fly with.
Keep in mind that you're still earning a fixed rate of return,
so these rewards are worth the same for coach, business class or any hotel room, and they can not be transferred to
airline or hotel
partners for award bookings.
Since
so many
airlines are members of
airline alliances (and those that aren't can
partner with other
airlines in ways you wouldn't expect), it feels sometimes that you can use points to fly on almost every one of them.
Additionally, even if your goal happens to be short flights on American
Airlines within the U.S., AA has sharply reduced their saver award space (which is the space open to
partners such as British Airways)
so Avios are less useful for those awards.
So you can NOT transfer points directly to Chase
airline and hotel
partners.
To fully maximize on the frequent flyer programs, it is generally advisable to fly within the alliance, if your
airline is part of a global alliance,
so that you can accrue miles on a host of
airlines and
partner businesses from across the globe.
Avianca operates flights primarily within South and Central America,
so if your travel plans are taking you elsewhere, you are likely to book a flight on a
partner airline.
Like American Express
airline partners, transfer ratios vary (see below),
so make sure you check them before transferring.
In Randy's case, American
Airline's
partner Alaska
Airlines does fly into his home airport of Victoria,
so he should be able to access this from Victoria or any of his other preferred airports.
So, before applying for a card make sure your preferred
airline is a
partner.
British Airways is a member of the Oneworld Alliance,
so you'll be able to earn Avios each time you fly with one of their
partner airlines.
Alaska
Airlines has a completely separate award chart for each
partner so it can be a little confusing.
This trick also works on flights from certain west coast cities to Hawaii on BA
partners American or Alaska
Airlines,
so keep that in mind for your next tropical getaway!
The biggest advantage with the Delta SkyMiles is that the
airline has numerous international
partners so you can accrue plenty of miles on your international travels.
Keep in mind that you're still earning a fixed rate of return,
so these rewards are worth the same for coach, business class or any hotel room, and they can not be transferred to
airline or hotel
partners for award bookings.
There are a number of
airlines, hotels, and shopping venues that American Express has
partnered with
so members can redeem points.
So, you can use United miles to book an award seat on 28
partner airlines.
Both American
Airlines and British Airways are part of the oneworld alliance, so you can use both airlines» miles for travel on any of the oneworld partners (including each
Airlines and British Airways are part of the oneworld alliance,
so you can use both
airlines» miles for travel on any of the oneworld partners (including each
airlines» miles for travel on any of the oneworld
partners (including each other).
Singapore
Airlines is also a direct transfer
partner of Amex, SPG, and Citi,
so you have plenty of options.
Once in your account, select «Transfer Points»
so you can choose an
airline transfer
partner.
SkyTeam lacks a Japanese
partner airline,
so it is great that Flying Blue
partners with Japan
Airlines.
SPG is also a
partner with American
Airlines,
so their cards can also be used to earn AA miles: Starwood Preferred Guest ® Credit Card from American Express and Starwood Preferred Guest ® Business Credit Card from American Express.
It has one big flaw:
so - called phantom availability on
partner airlines.
PG: Except what I've found lately is that the
partner airline holds out the inventory,
so American says that there are no seats available.
Aeroplan might show you several options with other Star Alliance
partners,
so if you want to fly EVA Air on the long - haul segment across the Pacific Ocean, make sure you check which
airline is operating that segment.
American AAdvantage miles can not be transferred directly to
partners for use,
so you'll likely have to find the flights you are interested in booking and call American
Airlines to book your award ticket.
Most cards that earn toward
partnered programs like hotels and
airlines have annual fees,
so it is refreshing to see one that doesn't!
United
Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance,
so United miles can be redeemed on United
Airlines flights,
partner airline flights, or non-alliance
partner flights.
Last year, I mostly flew with American
Airlines or their
partners,
so I managed to acquire Gold status as of the beginning of 2014.