Lufthansa First Class is becoming increasingly harder to book if you aren’t using their own Miles & More frequent flyer program (which often has more award availability). Thankfully, there’s still a few good ways to book this wonderful First Class experience.

fly Lufthansa First Class for 50k miles

Book Lufthansa First Class for 50k Miles

Asiana Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance network which means you can redeem Asiana Club miles for travel on Lufthansa. Asiana Club only requires 50k miles for a one-way First Class ticket between Europe and North America. Some things to note:

• fuel surcharges must be paid
• you can have 3 segments on a one-way booking
• Lufthansa only releases First Class award seats to partner airlines at most two weeks prior to departure
• you must call Asiana and make the booking over the phone (sometimes they allow holds for a few days)
• you can mix other Star Alliance airlines on the same ticket and have connections of up to 23h59m for no additional miles

Booking Lufthansa First Class with Asiana Club

You’ll need to find Lufthansa First Class award availability before calling Asiana Club. You’ll want to search close to departure and usually you’ll find the award space on Aeroplan, United, or other Star Alliance partners – make a note of the flight details.

You can add on connecting flights before and after your First Class flight – as long as there’s only 3 flights and the connections are under 23h59m, it should price properly. This means that you could fly something like Athens – Frankfurt – San Francisco – Seattle, with the long-haul in First Class, for just 50k miles.

You’ll need to find availability on all of your flights and then call Asiana Club to book, by providing each flight separately.

How to Earn Asiana Club Miles

You can earn Asiana Airlines Asiana Club miles through the typical activities – like flying Star Alliance, etc.

The only transfer partner to Asiana Club is Marriott Bonvoy: 3 Marriott points equal 1 Asiana Club mile, with a 25% transfer bonus for every 60k Marriott points transferred. Therefore:

• 60k Marriott Bonvoy points = 25k Asiana Club miles

Sadly there’s no other good way to transfer in miles into Asiana Club. Marriott transfers aren’t instant, and in my experience take around a week to transfer to Asiana Airlines. The good news is that Asiana will sometimes let you hold a booking for a few days, but the bad news is that Lufthansa only releases First Class awards really close to departure. Your best bet is to pre-transfer points and hope award space opens up – you’ll want to have lots of backup options if it doesn’t.

enjoy the Lufthansa First Class experience

All in All

Flying First to Europe is very limited because the number of airlines offering First Class keeps declining – and on top of that, the airlines that are offering First Class frequently change up routes and aircraft, so it can be hard to keep track and book a First Class ticket.

If you’re flexible, you can definitely book a First Class ticket to Europe – but this is the key, flexibility. You have to constantly check award availability and you’ll likely need to book close to departure as that’s when seats are usually released. Keep in mind the First Class cabin is relatively small so lots of award seats aren’t going to be released – and if the cabin is close to full, award space might not become available.

Booking a First Class ticket for 50k miles to Europe is an incredible deal – just keep in mind the rules of Asiana Club mentioned above and that you’ll likely need to have miles well prior to departure in your Asiana Club account. The good news is that Asiana agents are quite competent so there should be no issues booking your desired flights over the phone as long as you’re within the rules of the program.

The post Flying Lufthansa First Class for 50k Miles appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Should you be loyal to more than one airline? Loyalty is a game – we always seek out the least expensive flights or hotel stays, and then see how they can earn us the most amount of miles/status/points/nights possible – whether there are promotions or elite bonuses involved, it is usually fairly easy to qualify with at least one airline and hotel for elite status.

being loyal to multiple airlines has its benefits

Should You Be Loyal To Multiple Airlines?

Airline and hotel elite status qualifications are different – airlines require you to fly a certain amount of miles or segments every year plus potentially spend a certain amount of money with the airline in order to qualify for elite status. Every airline has their own requirements for different tiers in their frequent flyer program, but most airlines usually require some sort of flying (instead of just spend).

With most airlines, entry-level elite status usually starts at 25-30k miles flown each year – of course, you have to re-qualify. The entry-level elite status does not get you much other than perhaps priority check-in and boarding – usually lounge access starts at the mid-tier elite levels and above. Therefore, we believe if you are going to go for elite status with a certain airline, you should always aim for mid-to-top tier levels as they provide more benefits for your loyalty.

Why Be Loyal To Multiple Airlines?

If you are thinking about being loyal to more than one airline, make sure that your future plans will allow you to re-qualify for elite status with both airlines because it doesn’t make sense to qualify with another airline just to have elite status and then have it taken away after a year if you do not fly that airline anymore. There are several reasons why travelers might want to be loyal to multiple airlines:

• separate work travel from personal travel (your job might require a certain airline)
• have flexibility to fly more airlines and partners and then credit miles for those flights
• access to more award availability and award trip options through partnerships
• have the ability to apply your benefits on different airlines and alliances
• select flights that work best for you from different airlines and/or their partners

You should be loyal to multiple airlines if you understand their frequent flyer programs clearly and know that your future travel plans will allow you to easily qualify for elite status with both programs AND if you are going to use your elite benefits fully.

At the end of the day, every traveler has their own preferences and travel patterns and for some, splitting your loyalty across different airlines makes sense, to have access to more flights and partners around the world.

some airlines allow you to earn elite miles for credit card spend

All in All

If your travel patterns allow you to fly multiple airlines from different alliances and rack up miles and elite status with multiple frequent flyer programs at the same time and you find the benefits worthwhile, then you should absolutely go for it. Being loyal to multiple airlines does open up more flights for you – whether that’s the flexibility of booking a flight that works for you best or if you want to fly one airline for your personal travel and another for work, there are plenty of benefits of having multiple elite statuses across different airlines and alliances.

The hardest part will be to re-qualify every year for elite status with multiple airlines. If you travel a lot for work and for fun, then perhaps it might be quite easy to qualify year after year. If you are unsure if you will make it, plan out your trips for the year and estimate how many miles you could potentially earn. Remember that some airlines award you status/elite miles for credit card spend – so you could consider applying for a card that will bring you closer to elite status for your everyday purchases.

You’ll always want to aim for mid-to-top tier elite status – that’s where all of the best benefits are. Entry-level elite status with airlines usually does not provide many benefits so it might not be in your best interest to fly with a certain airline to only keep qualifying for the entry-level tier. Remember that every traveler is unique, therefore everyone has a different strategy and travel pattern that works for them – always take a look at frequent flyer benefits and requirements prior to making any big changes to your loyalty strategy.

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In the US, we have a wide selection of available credit cards – whether that’s a bank card earning you transferable points or an airline card, the choices are endless – which is why many people apply for many cards and hold on to them for a long time.

Transferable Bank Points Credit Cards

The best type of credit card you can have is one that earns you points in a bank program which then can be transferred to several airlines or hotels. The points transfers are usually instant so you’re able to move them around as you wish when booking your trip.

There is a wide selection of these credit cards from many banks including American Express, Chase, Citi, Capital One, etc. – each of these banks has their own loyalty program and every bank has different transfer partners available and some airlines and hotels allow transfers in from multiple bank programs.

There are several different cards available with bank programs – each with their own set of benefits and earning power. The more expensive the annual fee on the credit card, the more benefits are offered and more points are earned. You’ll want to carefully have a look at what cards are available to you and which ones will work best with your travel plans. Remember that you can usually have multiple cards with the same bank and therefore your earning and travel card strategy may be spread across multiple cards.

Airline Credit Cards

Most airlines have a credit card whereby you can earn miles directly in the airline’s frequent flyer program for your everyday purchases. Some airlines have different cards available, each with their own set of benefits – depending on how high the annual fee is, the more benefits you could receive.

Benefits of holding on to an airline credit card usually include things like a free checked bag, priority boarding, more award availability, and others. The one big downside of using an airline credit card instead of a transferable points bank credit card, is that with an airline credit card, the miles you earn stay in the airline’s loyalty program and you can only redeem them on the airline or partner airlines – so you can’t transfer points to other frequent flyer programs.

There are a few premium airline credit cards with high annual fees that feature lounge access and other priority services, and depending on how frequently you fly with that particular airline, the credit card with the most travel benefits could make sense for you.

Hotel Credit Cards

Hotel credit cards are just as important, as they also provide a number of benefits. There are several hotel chains out there and most of them do have their own credit card – or a selection of a few cards, ranging from entry-level to luxury.

Hotel credit cards work similarly to airline credit cards in that you earn hotel points for your spend and the cards also come with a number of benefits – such as entry-level hotel elite status, a free night each year, more points earned, etc. Depending on the hotel chain, they may have only one credit card available, however there are some chains that have several cards from which guests can select from.

The biggest benefit of a hotel credit card is the entry-level elite status and free night certificates. The elite status can get you a room upgrade, late check-out, and sometimes even free breakfast. The anniversary free night certificate can be worth a lot – especially if the annual fee isn’t that high. We regularly book hotels that cost over $300 with an annual free night from a credit card with only a $100 fee.

All in All

Whether you fly once a week or once a month or once a year, it makes sense to have some sort of credit card that earns you miles or points for your purchases as then you can redeem these rewards for flights and hotels and plan a fantastic trip.

Those who travel more frequently will most likely have multiple credit cards with travel benefits and will use them to their fullest – maximizing points earned and benefits available.

Even if you aren’t necessarily a frequent flyer and only fly once a year, it still makes sense to have some card that earns you miles as then you can potentially redeem them for your getaway. Earning miles is always better than not earning them and there are plenty of cards out there that earn you miles and points and don’t have an annual fee – in which case you should definitely consider using one of these as the points earned will only get you closer to your next holiday.

The post Credit Cards for Travel Benefits appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

What are Separate Tickets?

Separate connecting tickets are flights you book on separate tickets but your intention is to connect right away – usually without an overnight layover. When you book separate tickets the airline carrying you to your connecting city isn’t responsible for your next flight since it was booked on a separate ticket. Therefore if your first flight is delayed or cancelled and you miss your onward flight, you have to rebook yourself and potentially forfeit the value of your ticket (since you’d be marked as a no-show because your onward airline doesn’t know that you’re flying in from somewhere).

Why Book Separate Tickets?

There are several reasons why you could be booking separate tickets – this includes aspects like award availability, better fares, mixing airlines, etc. For example, let’s say you’re redeeming miles from airline A but this airline or their partners do not fly to where you want to go – so you book your ticket to a city in which you connect in, to another airline that may not be a partner of airline A, to get you to your destination.

Other times you could be booking separate tickets due to better fares if you break up your flights or perhaps you want to fly two different airlines that aren’t partners.

Important Things to Note

There are several important things to note and understand when booking separate tickets:

• you always want to leave plenty of time in your connecting city, generally 4 hours or more
• if you check bags, you’ll need to pick them up and recheck them in your connecting city, some airlines can through check bags to other airlines, but don’t expect this and be prepared to collect and recheck them
• you may need to go through security/immigration depending on your itinerary so be sure to check the details and add more time if necessary
• you’ll need to check-in for your flights separately as they are on separate tickets and sometimes online check-in might not work so you’ll need to do so at your connecting airport

Be Prepared and Have a Back-Up Plan

If you’re booking connecting separate tickets, be prepared and have a backup plan should you misconnect. If your first flight is cancelled or significantly delayed and you miss your onward flight on a separate ticket, just know that the initial airline likely won’t rebook you and neither would your onward airline – all because you booked separate tickets.

Always have a backup plan in case things don’t work out – before booking make sure you know what you’ll be doing if you miss your onward flight. Take a look at backup flights or alternatives that you can select if your plans go south.

Same-Day Change Could Save You

This applies to travel on US airlines as they allow you to do a same-day change for free or for a small fee on tickets if there is availability on other flights that same day. If your first flight on a separate ticket is delayed and you’ll misconnect, see if you can same-day change your other flight to a later one so you won’t have any trouble later – this could save you if your first flight is delayed.

Same-day changes are only available on a select number of airlines and each of them has their own rules and policies as far as what can be same-day changed. If you’re unable to do it online, try calling the airline or contacting them through other means.

All in All

There will be times when booking separate tickets makes more sense than buying one ticket. While this could save you money or miles, there are risks involved and you must be prepared in case things do not work out. Remember all of the aspects mentioned above and others when booking separate tickets – such as having to recheck baggage.

Always make sure your layover is extra long so you have time in case a flight is delayed or you need to go through immigration or passport control. If you book different airlines and they aren’t partners or are members of different alliances, your travel journey will be different and your benefits may not apply to all flights – depending on what cabin you booked and what your elite status is. Booking separate tickets to your final destination can be a great way to fly there, but be sure to take everything into consideration and always have a backup plan.

The post Separate Tickets: Important Things to Note appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Airlines constantly adjust their schedules and a flight time is never guaranteed as changes do occur frequently. There are various flight types that are important to understand as you expand your travels as these can help you plan your journey better. Just know that not every city pair will have your preferred flight type and time, the larger the city/airport, the more flights there generally are, and passengers have a larger selection.

Daytime/Regular Flight

The most common flights that exist are those during the day – you depart the same day you arrive, and you usually arrive a few hours later, depending on your flight time. If your flight crosses multiple time zones then you’re either going to gain some time or you’ll land much later – depending on which direction you’re traveling, how long your flight time is, and what the change in time zones is.

Red-Eye/Overnight Flight

A red-eye or overnight flight is a flight that departs in the evening and arrives in the morning on the following day. For example, you depart at 9PM and you land 9AM the following day. These are the most common flights to Europe from the US because of the time difference.

People either love or hate these overnight flights. On one hand, it allows them to have the full day to work or sightsee and then fly through the night, save on a hotel, and arrive the next morning at the destination. On the other hand, most people fly in Economy and not having proper sleep can be tough on the body – and you might feel like a zombie the next day.

Same Day, Earlier Arrival

Depending on which direction you’re flying and if you’re flying over the international date line, you might actually arrive earlier than you departed – on the same day. For example, if you’re flying from Asia to the US, you might depart at 5PM and land at 9AM – on the same day. This is due to you crossing the international date line and multiple time zones.

Skipping-a-Day Flight

Some flights are so long, cross so many time zones, and even the international date line that you’ll end up skipping a day. This is common for flights from North America to the South Pacific. For example, if you fly from the US to Australia, you’ll most likely depart at 10PM and land 7AM, but +2 days, so you’ll be skipping a whole day. The plus side is that you gain some of that day back when you fly this route reverse.

Ultra Long-Haul Flights

Ultra long-haul flights like, for example, Singapore to New York, will generally leave you feeling strange.. ultra long-hauls that are over 15 hours can really mess up your body’s clock – no matter what class you’re in.

While it can be convenient to be on the other side of the world by just taking one flight, it can be really tough to then adjust to the local time once you land. Consider breaking up your trip if possible and perhaps have a stopover somewhere along the way to help with the overall travel experience. Different people have different preferences, but ultra long-haul flights are a completely different experience.

Reverse Red-Eye Flights

There are a few flights that fly during the night from East to West and due to the time zone changes, could also be qualified as a red-eye flight, but rather in the reverse direction. Red-eyes from the US to Europe land the next day, multiple hours later – but a reverse red-eye from Europe to the US might depart at 11PM and land at 3AM the next day, due to the flight time and time zone changes.

These flights aren’t the best because you usually land at a really strange hour between 2-5AM and then it’s hard to decide what to do after that if you don’t have an early onward flight connection. So these flights aren’t ideal and there’s not many of them due to their strange timing.

All in All

There are a number of different flight types and while the most common is a simple day flight, the more traveling you do, the more types of flights you’ll experience. Most people have their preferred flying times based on their schedules, but sometimes not all routes have all schedules available and you might have to book something that you aren’t too happy about.

Airlines are constantly changing their flight schedules so even if you book your preferred flight time, just know that flight times aren’t guaranteed – so you never know if you’ll actually depart at the time you book. If your flight time is changed by at least two hours, you can generally get a full refund of your ticket.

The post Understanding Different Flight Types appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

elite status makes a big difference when you travel

Elite Status Qualification Period

Most airlines and hotels use the simple method of the calendar year to determine your elite status and the qualification period. When based on calendar year, you have from January 1 to December 31 to qualify for status and then your status would be extended by a further year.

There are some loyalty programs that don’t use the calendar year as a qualification period and rather some consider the range from March until end of February to determine your status. There are also some programs where your personal qualification period is based on when you join the program – every program is unique in some way.

Airline Elite Status Qualification Criteria

Most frequent flyer programs have you qualify for airline elite status each year based on a number of miles flown or segments flown. There are some airlines that make you spend a certain amount of money with the airline in order to qualify.

Some programs are drastically different than others and may have their own criteria that is used to qualify for elite status based on other factors – which may be a combination of segments and miles flown and perhaps money spent with the airline as well as other factors. Some airline programs allow you to earn elite status purely based on spend without having a requirement to fly a certain number of miles.

Revenue tickets count towards elite status and the higher your fare is, the more miles you will usually earn. Note that some programs don’t allow elite credit for Basic Economy tickets.

Award tickets don’t count towards status except on a few airlines – but this is the exception rather than the norm.

Each year you have to renew your elite status unless your program has different requirements for (re)qualification.

Hotel Elite Status Qualification Criteria

Hotel frequent guest programs are a little more simple than airline programs. Hotel programs allow you to qualify for hotel elite status based on the number of nights you stay every year with that hotel chain. Some programs allow you to qualify based on nights, stays, or points.

A night is defined as one hotel night, a stay is defined as a stay in a certain hotel that is consecutive, regardless of multiple nights booked and check in or out activity. Then points would be the amount of points you earn for staying at a hotel – this is usually based on how much you pay for the hotel and then multiplied by a factor, depending on what your status is.

Hotel programs don’t generally have a revenue requirement for status and rather only count the nights or stays needed every year. There are some top-tier elite statuses with hotel chains that do require a certain spend amount, but usually most elite status levels that are worth it, don’t have a spending requirement.

Hotel frequent guest programs generally credit you nights and stays even if you’re on an award stay – unlike with most airlines. So if you book your hotel stay using your hotel points or a free night certificate, that would most likely count towards your elite status qualification.

Like with airlines, it is you who needs to be the main reservation holder so the points and qualification goes into your account. Hotel reservations are more flexible than airline tickets since you can usually add a name to a hotel reservation and someone else can check in for you.

Mileage or Mattress Runs

A mileage run is a trip you take for no other purpose than to earn frequent flyer miles and elite credit. A hotel mattress run is essentially the same thing except you’re staying at a hotel for no reason other than to get nights or stay credit towards elite status.

Mileage runs were quite popular back in the day but due to a number of changes with frequent flyer programs, they aren’t that popular anymore. Usually when airlines have promotions or discount tickets, it could still make sense to book a mileage run in some cases.

Most mileage and mattress runs are done at the end of the year when you think you won’t (re)qualify for status based on your past activity and planned future trips. Sometimes it doesn’t take much more to push you over the finish line for elite status and a mileage or mattress run may be just the thing.

every year you must fly/stay to renew elite status

All in All

Airline and hotel elite status comes with a number of benefits that truly can improve and elevate your travel experience. The catch of course is that you need to renew your elite status every year – which is fair, after all the airlines and hotels will reward the most loyal guests.

In the most recent years, there have been a number of changes in how airline and hotel programs work – including changes in qualification criteria – some of these changes were positive and others were negative. Loyalty programs frequently tweak various aspects of the programs including benefits and services offered when they see the need to make changes. After all, if everyone’s an elite status holder, then benefits and upgrades are much harder to attain.

The post Understanding Elite Status Qualification appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Flying Economy on shorter flights isn’t a big deal, especially if you have an exit or extra legroom seat. Keep in mind that premium cabins on shorter flights usually don’t have lie-flat seats, but rather just a larger and more comfortable recliner seat.

flying Economy to your destination could make sense

Economy is a Better Deal

Flying Economy could make sense when it is a much better deal than Business Class – for example, if the cash fare was significantly less expensive or the award ticket was distance-based on a short flight. Usually on flights under 4 hours, I don’t mind flying Economy at all – as long as I have an extra legroom seat.

Many of the wonderful distance-based frequent flyer programs will charge you a price based on the distance you fly, so if you fly a really short distance in Economy, the price will most likely be very attractive. In the case of short flights, it rarely makes sense to pay for a premium cabin unless you value the benefits included with the ticket like a checked bag, for example.

You Don’t Need Premium Benefits

An Economy Class ticket doesn’t include any premium airport benefits, however if you have elite status you will usually have these included anyway – at which point really the only difference would be the actual flight since you would already have lounge access and priority airport services based on your status.

If you don’t have elite status and don’t need benefits like a checked bag or priority boarding and are only traveling with a carry-on, then flying Economy could be the best way to go depending on the flight length and your trip.

No Saver-Level Premium Award Seats?

If there are no saver-level premium award seats available on your flight for travel in First or Business Class, then it does not make sense to pay for a standard award just to fly in the premium cabin – don’t ever pay more miles than you need to just to fly a better cabin, don’t waste your miles.

Since there are more seats in Economy Class, chances are that there will be a saver-level award seat available on your flight and it probably can be booked using a decent amount of miles, in which case, you should go for it.

Remember to check the actual cash prices for your flight and don’t redeem miles or points just to redeem them but rather only if you’re getting a good deal.

When You Can Assign a Premium Seat in Economy

If you’re able to assign yourself a premium seat in Economy such as an extra legroom or exit row seat, then be sure to check if they are available first by doing a dummy booking.

Elite members and customers on select fares can assign these premium seats in Economy Class usually for no additional cost. If an Economy ticket offers the better value and you can get a premium seat, you should absolutely go that route instead of overpaying for a premium cabin.

shorter flights are best in Economy

All in All

Flying Economy Class is worth it sometimes – whether the ticket is a good deal, you can assign a premium seat, or maybe you already have elite status and have the priority airport services included. Whatever the reason, always compare both cabins and decide what will be the better travel option for you – both in terms of comfort and value.

Some flights offer a Premium Economy cabin which can also be a great way to fly since it is priced usually somewhere in between Business and Economy – and usually the cost is closer to Economy. This travel class includes a variety of benefits and a better seat at a lower price than Business Class. Remember to check all available cabins on your flight and the ways to book them – remember to check what a partner airline might charge for the flight instead of booking with the operating airline, as the partner may offer a better value.

The post When Does Flying Economy Make Sense? appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Not every hotel has a club lounge and there’s probably less hotels that have lounges than those that do. Every hotel chain has different hotel brands and some of those have club lounges and others do not.

a hotel club lounge can make a big difference

Which Elites Have Hotel Club Lounge Access?

Generally mid to top tier elite members have access to a hotel club lounge. For example, this includes Hyatt Globalist members or Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and above. Every hotel chain has their own access policies.

Elite members that are eligible for club access can use the lounge even when booking the cheapest hotel room and even if they aren’t upgraded to a preferred room or suite. Think of it like how elite flyers have access to an airline lounge even when flying Economy.

Elites can usually bring in one guest that’s registered to their room and any children under a certain age. If there are more guests, they can generally pay for the additional guests to access the club.

What’s Included in a Hotel Club Lounge?

A hotel club lounge is very similar to an airport lounge with similar benefits and services. Hotel clubs are usually smaller than airport lounges, but some hotels do have huge clubs – it all depends on where the hotel is located and how many premium guests they serve.

A hotel club lounge is an exclusive space where eligible guests can visit throughout the day and enjoy amenities such as:

• comfortable seating and working areas
• Free WiFi
• premium and personal assistance
• printing services
• all day refreshments such as light snacks and non-alcoholic drinks
• complimentary breakfast
• complimentary evening food, such as canapés

The offerings at hotel clubs vary from hotel to hotel – and the quality of the amenities offered can be very different based on where in the world you are. For example, hotel clubs in North America don’t offer the best breakfast or evening food selection whereas hotel clubs in Asia offer a full dinner and incredible service.

Depending on the hotel and where you are, the amenities and service will be different – usually Asia and the Middle East regions offer the best service and selection of amenities.

Is a Hotel Club Closed?

There many be times when a hotel may need to close a club for a certain reason and in this case they usually offer guests with club access some sort of replacement – perhaps bonus points or breakfast in the restaurant.

Depending on the hotel, they also may offer you the evening club food benefits via a light snack to your room or in the restaurant should the club be closed.

elite members can relax and unwind during their hotel stay

All in All

Hotel Club Lounges are similar to airport lounges where you can unwind and relax during your stay. Unlike with airport lounges, hotel lounges don’t have food available the entire day and rather only in the evening – this depends on the individual hotel’s policies. They should however have snacks and non-alcoholic drinks available through they day.

Elite members and select guests staying in premium rooms have access to hotel club lounges. The amenities and benefits of the club depend on the hotel and where in the world you are staying. These clubs offer premium guests a comfortable and quiet place to unwind and relax during a hotel stay.

The post Hotel Club Lounge Benefits and Services appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

A suite upgrade for elite members is one of the most important benefits of the hotel stay. A suite provides greater comfort, more amenities, and increased space to work or relax – something that loyal members do appreciate and one of the reasons they might renew their status every year or be loyal to a certain chain. There are a few ways and tips/notes that you should keep in mind to make sure you receive your suite upgrade if you are eligible.

suite upgrades can make a big difference in your hotel stay

Auto Suite Upgrades Prior to Check-in

The way that all bookings theoretically should work is that on the day of check-in, the hotel should automatically assign you a suite if you are eligible for one, and a standard suite is available. If you are upgraded, you will usually be notified about it in your mobile app of the hotel chain.

When you arrive, you will simply check-in as normal, pay for your stay at the rate you booked for the standard room, but you can enjoy the suite. Note that suites do take longer to clean and if there is an elite member in the suite with late 4PM check-out, you may have to wait a bit for your room to be ready.

No Suite Upgrade Prior to Arrival?

If you are checking your mobile app and you notice that on the day of arrival you have yet to be upgraded to a suite, you can check availability at the hotel by running a dummy search and checking for available suites. Note that top-tier elite members are eligible for complimentary upgrades to standard suites and not premium suites, at select hotel chains. So if you aren’t upgraded it may be that there are only premium suites available, at which point you could inquire about those but an upgrade would be at the discretion of the hotel.

If there is a standard suite available and after checking in you are still not upgraded, you can ask about that suite. What I usually do is say “thank you for the upgrade to the X room (like deluxe or premium), but I see there are still standard suites available, could you please assign me one of those?” – at which point the conversation will go two ways: you will get the suite or they will tell you it is not available.

Suites Available but Hotel Claims Otherwise?

There is a huge variety between different hotels – some upgrade elite members into suites before check-in and other hotels love to play games with suite upgrades and will constantly deny them. There are a few ways you can approach the second situation – usually I start by thanking them if they already upgraded me to a premium room and I will inquire about the standard suite.

Depending on the nature of the conversation, I will let the front desk person know there are still suites available as shown online. Then they will either type away at their computer checking the availability or they could deny you right away – “we are sold out”. It all depends on how comfortable you are with pushing the suite upgrade request if a suite is showing as available. There are times when the availability is phantom and the hotel indeed might be sold out of suites, but most of the time, the availability is accurate.

You could push further and ask for a manager or continue to stand your ground with the agent checking you in. Chances are if they tell you right away that a suite is not available but the website shows it as being available, you are probably going to have to put up a bit of a fight.

Escalating Your Request for Suite Upgrades

If I am still being denied a suite at this point, sometimes I just let it go and probably won’t stay at the hotel again. Other times when the stay really matters to me, I push further and ask for a manger or even get in touch with the hotel chain directly via social channels. If a suite really is available and it is clear to the manager or other front desk people that I understand my benefits, they might finally assign me the suite or continue to push back.

If a manager pushes back and says no suites available (even though the website is showing availability), I will probably get in touch with the hotel chain. Their social media is usually good about getting in touch with the hotel and giving them a reality check as to what should happen if a suite is indeed available. Finally at the end, it could still go two ways – finally you get the suite or hotel says still not available, in which case, there probably isn’t much more that can be done.

remember to always request a suite upgrade

All in All

Suite upgrades for elite members sometimes have to be a fight – and it really should not be this way as loyal elite members stay with a hotel chain a certain number of nights every year and spend a significant amount of money so they should really receive their benefits without having to fight for them.

There are amazing hotels and there are hotels where “no” is the answer to every question. It really comes down to the hotel in the end as to how they treat elite members – some will go above and beyond and others won’t care that you hold top tier status.

The post Hotel Suite Upgrades for Elite Members appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

There are a few major points you should be aware of that are common across airlines and frequent flyer programs – while every airline and program ultimately set their own rules, they do share common aspects with other airlines and programs.

always make sure you are crediting miles for your flights

Earn Miles for Published, not Flown Distance

You’ll always earn miles based on the direct and published distance between two cities and not the actual path your specific flight takes. So in theory your flight could fly more miles than the published distance but you won’t get those additional miles – you’ll only get a factor of what the direct distance is between the two cities – depending on your fare, plus any frequent flyer or class of service bonuses.

Note that every airline and frequent flyer program determine their own distances between cities – usually they are the same or off by a few miles, so there’s no major differences.

Crediting Miles Retroactively

Even if you add your frequent flyer number onto your booking during the process, or after when booked or during check-in, there are times when you won’t receive your miles as promised in your frequent flyer account. The first thing to make sure is that you booked a qualifying fare that earns miles in your desired program. Do note that different frequent flyer programs credit miles differently – so program A could award you 5,000 miles for a flight and program B could not award you any.

Usually prior to booking, you want to check how many miles you’ll receive in your desired program, some programs award more miles and points than others. If you did book a qualifying fare and the points did not post to your frequent flyer account within the specified timeframe (usually up to a week), you can simply submit a retro-credit request. Do note that you’ll need your boarding pass and booking information – so always keep those until the miles post to your account.

There are several reasons why the miles may not post automatically, including IT issues, your name and middle name not matching correctly from your ticket to your account, general airline processing slowness, etc. The great thing is that as long as you’re a member of a frequent flyer program when you fly, you can always ask for your miles to be credited later if it is not done automatically.

Crediting Miles for Original Routing

When you book a ticket, you usually will calculate how many award and status miles you will earn. Many flyers do this so they can keep track of their elite status and how much more they’ll need to fly this year in order to re-qualify.

Unfortunately, irregular operations do happen and flights get cancelled. When a flight is cancelled and you’re rebooked on another one, the miles post to your account automatically based on your new flight that you were rebooked on. However, the good news is that many programs allow you to request original routing credit based on the itinerary you booked (but didn’t fly because of the cancellation). Sometimes you purposely traveled from Los Angeles to New York via Miami to get those extra miles and if you were rebooked on the direct LAX-NYC, then you’d obviously get less status miles. In these cases, simply let your frequent flyer program know about your original booking and most programs are willing to credit you miles based on your original routing.

Receiving Miles for an Award Ticket

In most cases, you don’t earn any miles when you book an award ticket (a ticket booked with miles). There are some exceptions to this rule. The most important ones being:

• some frequent flyer programs might credit you status miles on award tickets, but not award miles, so you’ll be closer to re-qualifying for elite status, do note there are only a few airlines that do this
• if you’ve booked a mileage ticket and your flight is cancelled and you’re rebooked into a revenue fare class, you should earn miles for this new flight since you were rebooked as if you originally had a cash ticket – some frequent flyer programs are more technologically advanced and will check if the ticket was initially an award ticket, at which point you most likely wouldn’t get miles
• in very rare times, you’ve booked an award ticket and magically the miles still post to your frequent flyer account, this is very uncommon, but it does happen – especially if you’ve redeemed partner miles for a flight and have a different frequent flyer number on your boarding pass

claim miles that did not post to your account

All in All

There are a few discrepancies to be aware of when crediting miles for flights. Generally, most mileage credit for flights posts quickly and without issues. However, there are those few times where manual crediting may be needed. If you’ve changed your ticket a few times or your ticket is fairly complex, the chances are higher of miles not posting.

Frequent Flyer programs have several rules and exceptions and every airline determines their own rules, but it is always nice to be aware of the common rules that apply to many programs across airlines. Remember to always monitor your accounts and ensure that your miles are properly credited.

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