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.

The post Should You Be Loyal to Multiple Airlines? 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.

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.

The post Crediting Miles: Common Discrepancies appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Every frequent flyer program sets their own rules on what is allowed on a Round-the-World award ticket. Remember that the rules of the airline you are using to book your ticket will apply (not the airline you will actually fly).

will you be flying on a round the world ticket soon?

General Round the World Award Ticket Notes

There are a few important key things you need to understand when planning your award redemption for a round the world ticket:

• there must be award availability on all your desired segments and waitlisting is not permitted
• you can generally mix cabins, but the cost in miles will be determined by the highest cabin on your itinerary
• booking a RTW award can usually only be done by phone and it might take a few calls to find an agent with experience and knowledge how to book these awards
• the same award change and cancellation rules usually apply to these bookings
• you must meet the requirements of a RTW award for your itinerary to price as a RTW, otherwise it might price differently, for example, as a multi-city with one-way journeys
• you can fly multiple airlines, but they all must be partner airlines of the airline who’s miles you are redeeming
• some airlines permit you to change your trip after you depart and others will not allow changes after you fly the first flight

There are other rules and you can check them on the website of the frequent flyer program you are using. Do note that not all airlines and frequent flyer programs offer round the world redemptions.

Round the World Award Ticket Pricing

A RTW award ticket has different rules than a regular award ticket – this is because a RTW ticket prices differently in miles. For example, the prices of a RTW ticket could be as follows:

• First Class: 400,000 miles
• Business Class: 250,000 miles
• Economy Class: 150,000 miles

In addition to the miles, you will need to pay the usual airport taxes and fees. Some frequent flyer programs do also make you pay fuel surcharges – and these can add up quickly on a RTW booking, so it’s best to book with a program that doesn’t pass these charges on to you.

Round the World Award Ticket Routing Rules

A RTW award ticket features different routing rules than a standard award ticket, this is due to a number of factors like the ability to add multiple stopovers or open-jaws, something that may not be allowed on a standard award ticket.

A Round the World award ticket could include the following rules/features:

• you must cross both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
• you must have a certain number of stopovers or open-jaws
• you may have to travel through or stop in certain regions
• you usually cannot backtrack – so you have to fly in one direction
• all travel must be completed within one year, so your stopover days are limited and can’t be really long

There are a number of other rules to these tickets and if you don’t meet all of the rules, either the ticket won’t price and won’t be bookable, or it might price as a multi-city award with one-way bookings, at which point you wouldn’t get the RTW price. Again, the rules are set by the airline who’s miles you are redeeming.

Round the World Award Ticket Example

Here is a simple example of a round the world ticket which you could book if there is award availability:

• 1) Seattle – San Francisco – Sydney
• 2) Sydney – Auckland – Bangkok
• 3) Bangkok – Singapore – Dubai
• 4) Dubai – Frankfurt – London
• 5) London – Newark – Seattle

In this example you are stopping over in Sydney, Bangkok, Dubai, and London. You could potentially swap one of the stops into an open-jaw, so you could fly into Sydney and out of Auckland, for example, and you’d need to buy a separate ticket between the two. Open-Jaws are great because they allow you to visit more places and build in side trips with separate tickets.

RTW Award vs. Multiple One-Way Awards

Technically, a round the world can be booked in a variety of ways – either all on one ticket or as multiple one-way award tickets, for example. There are pros and cons to both types of bookings such as:

• a true RTW booking will probably cost you less miles but you need to find the entire award availability for your trip at the same time, which isn’t easy if you’re flying in the premium cabins
• booking multiple one-way awards will cost you more miles but will allow you the flexibility of flying different airlines through different frequent flyer programs – you can easily mix cabins and airlines, changing these would be much easier since they would be simple tickets

when planning a round the world, consider all available options

All in All

RTW tickets are not as popular as regular award bookings due to the number of restrictions like needing to book the entire trip at the same time, which can be challenging with award space. The ticket would cost you less miles, but it also might be less flexible and a nightmare to change down the road. Many people these days book multi-city and one-way awards when planning a round the world trip as this allows them much more flexibility – like flying different cabins or airlines, or even making changes mid-trip.

Miles and points are amazing and powerful when you put them to great use – especially on premium cabin redemptions for flights all around the world. Remember that there are an infinite number of ways to book an award and you should carefully study the best ways to redeem your miles for your dream trip so you can maximize them fully and explore the world.

The post Tips for Booking a Round the World Award Trip appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

don’t let a partner award ticket schedule change ruin your trip

What is a Partner Award Ticket Change?

A partner award ticket is a mileage ticket that you book with one airline and you fly on another airline. So, for example, you can redeem United Airlines miles for travel on Lufthansa as the two airlines are partners – this would be a partner award ticket. A standard award ticket would be a booking where you are flying the same airline who’s miles you are using.

A schedule change on a booking means that the flight’s schedule was changed – this can range anything from a few minutes to a total cancellation of the flight.

A partner award ticket change means that the schedule on the flight you booked with the partner airline was adjusted – either by a few minutes, hours, or a total cancellation.

Partner Award Ticket Changes are Complicated

Changes on partner award tickets are complicated – they cannot be fixed as easily as a cash/revenue booking, because there isn’t always going to be saver-level award availability on a flight (meanwhile if you paid with cash, there will always be a seat as long as the flight isn’t sold out completely).

The main reason why changes on partner award tickets are complicated is because the airline you booked through cannot simply open up another award seat on a partner airline – they’re supposed to reach out to their contact at that airline and theoretically rebook you on a different flight, but it is hard to get an agent who is competent enough to follow through on this process. There are some amazing agents that might be able to rebook you on any partner flight (as if you paid with cash), but I find that this happens much less now than it did in the past.

Cancel Your Ticket

When your partner award flight is canceled, you always have the option of receiving a full refund of your miles and taxes paid. You will want to contact the airline with who you booked the ticket to request a refund. The miles should go back to your account right away and the taxes will show up back on the original form of payment within a few weeks. Since your flight was cancelled, there won’t be any additional fees.

Change Your Partner Award Ticket

If your partner award flight is cancelled and you want to be rebooked on something else, it can get tricky. If there is award space on your new desired date, you can be rebooked without issue. Do note that some airlines make you pay the difference in miles/taxes and other airlines do not – generally, they shouldn’t charge you additional miles or taxes because your flight was cancelled, but if they do, there’s not much you can do except hang up and call again.

If you want to be rebooked but there is no award availability, it all really comes down to the agent you are talking with – either they will tell you they can’t do anything and you are out of luck or it will be an amazing agent who will work with you to find a solution.

If the agent you are talking to tells you there’s nothing you can do except cancel and refund, I would call back a few times and see what other agents have to say. Try to be flexible with your flights – change the dates by a few days or depart/arrive in a different city – this may open up more options. You can also try to speak with a supervisor.

When your partner award flight gets cancelled, airlines usually have contacts between each other whereby the airline who you booked your ticket with can reach out to the operating airline and that airline might be able to open up award space on your preferred date, at which point the issuing airline can simply rebook you. Not all agents will be willing to look into this option, but it is worth asking about.

There are other agents who will simply rebook your ticket as if it was a normal cash ticket – essentially into a revenue fare on a new flight (and in cases like this you might even be able to earn miles on the new flight). This option was the solution a while back and almost always what was done, but lately, I have found that few airlines are willing to do this.

Contacting the Operating Airline

Usually in the event of a change or cancellation, you will want to reach out to the original booking source. However, if you are very close to your departure, you can try to reach out to the operating airline who cancelled your flight – they may be able to take control of your ticket and simply rebook you right away (this usually happens at airports if the flight is cancelled right before departure). This solution does not always work, but it is worth trying if you had no luck prior.

Rebook Yourself Using other Miles/Points

If you have other miles or points, you can always book yourself a new award ticket, if there is availability. Usually, last minute, there is something available – though note that Economy Class has more availability than the premium cabins, so sometimes this may be the only option. Remember that if your original flight was cancelled, you can get those miles/points and taxes refunded, so you can book something with your other miles beforehand to have a confirmed segment.

This option is obviously not ideal since you are essentially booking something different last minute for yourself, but sometimes in the event of schedule changes on partner award tickets, this may be the only option.

the quicker you resolve the schedule change, the faster you fly

All in All

Flight schedule changes are never good – especially if you are booked on a partner award ticket, it does get complicated. I believe the most important tip is that you stay calm and work with the agents who you are talking to. Don’t be angry or yell at them if they are helping you out – they understand that you probably aren’t happy since your flight was cancelled, but remaining calm and working towards a solution is the best thing you can do. In the event of irregular operations, mileage tickets should be treated the same as cash tickets, but sadly that isn’t the case with many airlines.

The post Options on a Changed Partner Award Ticket appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Most airlines have their own credit cards which offer you the ability to earn miles or points with the airline’s frequent flyer program for every $1 you spend. Unlike with credit cards issued which earn rewards with a bank program that you can transfer to various airlines, airline credit cards earn rewards directly with the airline and cannot be transferred to other airlines.

airline credit cards help you travel better

Earning Miles/Points for Purchases with Credit Cards

Obviously one of the biggest reasons why you’d want an airline card is to earn miles for your everyday purchases – then you can redeem those miles for flight awards with your airline or with their partner airlines.

Depending on the type of card you have and the rewards structure, you could earn multiple miles per $1 spent. For example, some airline credit cards may award you multiple points per $1 spent for purchases directly with the airline. There may also be bonuses on other types of spend like travel, restaurants, gas, groceries, etc.

Sign Up Bonus

When you first apply for the card, chances are there will be a huge sign up bonus in the form of a number of miles after spending a certain amount within a certain timeframe. The bonus miles earned can be redeemed just like your other miles – for flights and more.

Sometimes the sign up bonus is huge enough to get you a one-way Business Class ticket to Europe!

Free Checked Bag with Airline Credit Cards

One of the biggest perks of an airline credit card is that it usually does get you a free checked bag, sometimes for only you and sometimes for all travelers on the reservation. Do note that not all airlines offer this perk, so be sure to check your card benefits and details.

Access to More Award Availability

There are certain credit cards where one of the airline benefits is access to more award availability – this is a huge benefit in a world where award space gets booked up quickly. You can use this perk and book flights that other members may not be able to – and sometimes at great rates, too. Remember that you can always share your miles and book tickets for others, so this could be a great way to confirm friends or family on flights using miles.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

If you fly frequently, chances are you will find yourself out of the country quite a bit – and you’ll definitely want a credit card that doesn’t charge you foreign transaction fees as these can add up quickly. Airlines know loyal flyers and card members value this benefit greatly as it can save a ton of money.

Lounge Passes with Airline Credit Cards

Select airline credit cards offer their cardholders a few airline lounge passes within a certain timeframe, usually annually. You can use these passes to access the lounges and relax prior to your flight. Keep in mind that there may be further access restrictions such as having to travel on an eligible itinerary, etc.

Priority Airport Services

Priority Check-in and Priority Boarding are some of the biggest benefits offered as part of the airport priority ground services. You can skip the lines and quickly check your bags in prior to heading to your gate. Priority Boarding allows you to quickly board the plane and find bin space for your carry-on and just relax ahead of the crowd.

earn miles around the world with airline credit cards

All in All

Every frequent flyer should hold their airline’s credit card due to the ability of earning miles and points for everyday purchases in addition to all of the benefits and perks offered. Do note that if you hold elite status, some of the credit card benefits could overlap with your elite perks as the credit cards do offer elite-like benefits.

Airlines can offer a variety of different cards to select from – the more expensive the annual fee is, the more benefits are generally offered with the card. Not every airline has a credit card and not all airlines have multiple card offerings. Have a look at what credit cards your airline offers and see if any of them would improve your travel experience and if so, it might make sense to apply for it.

The post Airline Credit Cards: Features and Benefits appeared first on Travel Miles 101.