Virgin Atlantic agents are not always well - versed in researching and
booking partners award flights.
Virgin Atlantic agents are not always well - versed in researching and
booking partners award flights.
Because many airlines only release their premium cabin space to members of their own frequent flyer programs, transferring American Express points gets you access you don't have when
you book partner award flights through your usual frequent flyer program.
Not exact matches
You can
book an
award flight with a co-brand United credit card or either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve as a 1:1 Ultimate Rewards travel
partner.
With Singapore Airlines» KrisFlyer program, we have our best Star Alliance
partner option for
booking award flights to Hawaii on United Airlines.
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.
One important point to remember when using United miles to
book this
flight is that Lufthansa only releases first class
award space to its Star Alliance
partners 14 days before departure.
If you
book an
award flight with a
partner airline such as American Airlines and do not include a
flight operated by British Airways on your reservation, you'll be required to pay peak - level
award prices.
While
award flights on Etihad may be
booked online, you must redeem miles for
partner awards over the phone by calling the Guest Services Center at 877-690-0767.
Redeeming your points through their travel portal can get you more value for your points, or you can transfer your points to their
partner programs, and
book award flights through that.
Just a quick note about
booking awards on these
partner airlines: while Etihad
award flights may be
booked online, you must redeem miles for
partner awards over the phone by calling the Guest Services Centre at 877-690-0767 at least 14 days in advance.
Until recently, if you wanted to
book an
award flight with a
partner of Singapore Airlines, you were required to call to
book.
Unlike with Delta
award flights, you will have to call Korean Air to
book as their online search function only allows you to search for
award space on SkyTeam
partners.
Like Korean Air SkyPass, Air France / KLM Flying Blue can
book award flights on SkyTeam
partner Delta but also with their
partner Alaska Airlines.
With Singapore Airlines» KrisFlyer program, we have our best Star Alliance
partner option for
booking award flights to Hawaii on United Airlines.
You'll notice that Delta requires significantly more miles to
book award flights with its
partner Virgin Australia.
To find
award space on United
flights to Sydney (SYD) and
book with ANA Mileage Club miles, you simply need to run a search for
partner awards on ANA's website.
Rather than «transferring» them to other airline
partners, you can simply use them to
book award flights with any Star Alliance
partner.
Here's what you need to look for when
booking an
award flight to Australia on either Delta or their
partner Virgin Australia.
If you don't already have a stash of Aeroplan points, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points from your Business Platinum Card from American Express Open to Aeroplan, or
book an Air Canada
flight as a
partner award through United.
They can
book hotel stays and be transferred to airline
partners to
book award flights.
In early 2017, Delta started requiring more miles to
book award flights with
partners than if you
booked the same route on a
flight operated by Delta.
You'll get the most value out of your points by transferring them to an airline
partner and
booking an
award flight.
Then, you can use the points to
book award flights on
partner airlines like Alaska Airlines or American Airlines.
This means you can
book award flights to Europe on
partners like Air Canada or United Airlines.
Or get the Chase British Airways to
book award flights on
partner airlines like Alaska Airlines or American Airlines.
However,
booking award flights (especially in business or first) on United rather than
partners, has a major advantage.
Additionally, American Express often runs transfer bonus promotions with individual transfer
partners which can be very useful if you need to
book an
award flight.
Because you can't transfer your points directly to the
partners, you'll have to search for
award flights and then call AAdvantage (1-800-433-7300) to
book the
flights.
I recommend using the Alaska Airlines website only when trying to
book an
award flight operated by Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air, or for a few select
partners that are relatively easy to find.
Booking awards with Virgin Australia can be very easy or require a phone call, depending on which
partners you are trying to
book flights with.
To find
award space on United
flights to Sydney (SYD) and
book with ANA Mileage Club miles, you simply need to run a search for
partner awards on ANA's website.
Flying on the airline or its
partners,
booking award flights, shopping at the AAdvantage eShopping mall, eating out with AAdvantage Dining and, of course, using any co-branded American Airlines credit card will keep your miles from expiring.
The most important of those advantages is that US airlines don't typically charge fuel surcharges on
award tickets
booked on their own
flights, and often don't pass along their
partners» fuel surcharges.
Here's what you need to look for when
booking an
award flight to Australia on either Delta or their
partner Virgin Australia.
Similar to airlines previously mentioned, these
awards can not be
booked on
flights operated by Virgin Australia's other
partners.
HawaiianMiles can be used to
book award travel on any Hawaiian Airlines
flight and certain
partner airline
flights.
Keep an eye on the
partners of your Host program, and learn which search engines show
partner flights, and when you'll need to call in to
book an
award.
Cathay Pacific is also a transfer
partner of Citi ThankYou Points which gives you yet another option for earning Asia Miles to help you
book your
award flight.
Award tickets may be
booked as shortly as two hours prior to a
flight when they are available, and because American itself operates the
flight, rather than a
partner, that means that any available seat can be ours for the AAnytime rate of 35,000 miles.
SkyMiles can also be used to
book award flights on
partners Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Australia.
There's no doubt that the best way to use MileagePlus miles is to
book award flights on United and its
partners.
You can either find a different
flight, use one of their airline
partners (if using Avios to
book an
award), or use the BA «stopover» feature, which allows you to connect to a final destination in a city in the UK.
But you also get free stopovers on
award flights booked with Alaska's excellent international airline
partners, including Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Qantas.
Consider the fact that Hilton Honors points are worth roughly 0.4 cents per point, while you can transfer ThankYou Points an airline
partner and easily get 1.7 cents per point when
booking an
award flight.
Although it may be possible to
book the
flight via a
partner to subvert the roundtrip - only nature of Delta
award tickets, even the «low»
award price of 22,500 miles is unpalatable.
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.
Unfortunately, Japan Airlines requires you to call to
book award flights with
partner airlines, but this is easy if you follow the steps below.
Thanks to Korean Air's SkyTeam
partner, you can
book an
award flight on Air France in economy class from Los Angeles (LAX) to Tahiti (PPT) for 60,000 Korean Air SkyPass miles.
As the Premier Rewards Gold is more intended for reward air travel, you will have the most success with
booking award flights on Amex Travel or by transferring them to a 1:1 travel
partner.