Normally the best use of frequent flyer miles is
for international premium cabin awards because these are expensive tickets if you pay with cash but not very expensive if you pay with miles.
If you want a stash of fixed value points for domestic economy redemptions, then build up a nice supply of them alongside the Membership Rewards you use for
international premium cabin trips.
Whether it's
luxurious international premium cabin travel or domestic travel on high - demand routes, it is often possible to get 3 - 4 cents per point or more with a little skill in navigating airline award charts.
While one of the award charts did see a major valuation last year — that of Emirates — there are still multiple partner award charts which
offer international premium cabin awards for much less than the number of miles that would be required by booking directly with the airlines» own award programs.
Obviously you or your employer must be flush enough to
afford international premium cabin travel and I cite an extreme example, but it doesn't hurt to be earning nearly enough for a free domestic economy class award (25,000 miles) every time you take a business trip to Europe.
Although Singapore Airlines is one of the best Star Alliance carriers for
international premium cabin travel, you can not use ANA miles for first or business class on its flights operated with a Boeing 777 - 300ER or an Airbus A380.
There's just too much value in
booking international premium cabin tickets with points.However, with the advent of... [Read more...] about The Case for Booking Flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
The combination of a good airline with good partners results in an array of award charts that offer great value on everything from short - haul domestic economy tickets all the way to
international premium cabin awards.
Airline partners are where you will find the most value for your points, particularly on award flights in
international premium cabins.
The best flexible points programs feature an ability to easily cash out your points for solid value, moderate uplift for everyday travel and jackpot - like upside when redeeming for
international premium cabin flights.
I don't get to fly with Qantas all that often as, let's face it,
international premium cabin awards on Qantas aren't exactly easy to find and the airline never seems to discount its premium cabins down to what I'm prepared to pay.
Using Ultimate Rewards points for
international premium cabin flight makes more sense to me.
However, if you plan to redeem miles at this cost for
an international premium cabin, you may get a higher value and come out ahead.
But the main thrust of my strategy with United is to pay for my domestic flights and redeem miles for
international premium cabin travel, particularly on their excellent Star Alliance partners.
(By contrast, I value most other airline points at about 2 cents each because I can use them for
international premium cabin awards, or even some pricey domestic fares that normally cost $ 500 +.)
The biggest problem I have with buying AAdvantage miles is that they're so incredibly hard to use economically on American Airlines — the airline just doesn't release SAAver award inventory very often (certainly not for
international premium cabin travel).
Oneworld is already an alliance in which its getting harder and harder to use the various loyalty currencies economically (you can't find American Airlines saver awards, British Airways charges extortionate surcharges, searching for
international premium cabin awards on Qantas is akin to searching for a needle in a haystack etc...) so devaluing the benefits for the vast majority of oneworld elites would not be a smart marketing move....
For
international premium cabin flights: United (via Star Alliance partners), Singapore Airlines and Korean Airlines all offer good options and these types of aspirational redemptions can result in very high CPM values.
Starpoints are best used for
international premium cabin flights, transferred to partner airlines that no / few other programs transfer into.
Do not collect fixed - value bank points like Arrival miles or ThankYou Points for
international premium cabin travel.
Airlines live and die by
their international premium cabin profits.»
Phrases with «international premium cabin»