Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is one of my favorite frequent flyer programs since they offer some really cool redemptions on unique airlines:

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Overview
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Sweet Spots (VS, NZ, DL, SQ, VA)
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Sweet Spots (AF/KL, NH, HA, SA)

Transferring Points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points are fairly easy to acquire since you can transfer them in from most major transferable bank points programs:

• American Express Membership Rewards
  • 1:1 transfer ratio
  • instant transfer
• Capital One Rewards
  • 1:1 transfer ratio to the Virgin Red program
  • instant transfer
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • 1:1 transfer ratio
  • instant transfer
• Citi ThankYou Points
  • 1:1 transfer ratio
  • instant transfer
• Marriott Bonvoy
  • 3:1 transfer ratio (for every 60k Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer, you will get a bonus of 5k Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points)
  • average transfer time is 1-2 days

The transferable bank points programs frequently offer transfer bonuses, for example, like 30% more airline miles/points. Under a bonus like this you would receive 30% more Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points when transferring from a bank program.

Sweet Spots: Redeeming Flying Club Points on Delta Air Lines

One of the best ways to redeem your Virgin Atlantic points is on Delta Air Lines flights, here are a few of the best ways to redeem (sweet spots):

• UK <-> US (BOS, JFK): Economy Class: 15k, Delta One: 47.5k
• UK <-> US (ATL, DTW, MSP): Economy Class: 17.5k, Delta One: 47.5k
• UK <-> US (SLC): Economy Class: 20k
• Europe (excluding the UK) <-> US: Delta One: 50k
• all other flights with range of 0 – 500 miles flown: Economy Class: 7.5k
• all other flights with range of 501 – 1,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 8.5k
• all other flights with range of 1,001 – 1,500 miles flown: Economy Class: 11.5k
• all other flights with range of 1,501 – 2,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 12.5k
• all other flights with range of 2,001 – 3,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 15k
• all other flights with range of 3,001 – 4,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 22.5k

Partner Delta Award Availability

Delta has a terrible frequent flyer program. They regularly charge 350k+ miles for a one-way Business Class ticket to Europe while other airlines charge somewhere around 50-80k miles/points for the same routing. Thankfully, Delta does release award availability to partner airlines which means you can book the same flight for less miles through Delta’s partners – while the amount of award space may not be huge, they still do release it.

Up until now, it has been a pain to check award availability on Delta’s flights that are bookable through partner airlines – you basically had to check day-by-day using Air France/KLM or Virgin Atlantic and then if found, book it through one of these programs as the amount of miles required is significantly less than if booking through Delta.

Virgin Atlantic’s New Award Availability Tool

Virgin Atlantic has just introduced an incredible new tool that shows you an award availability calendar for either their own flights or Delta Air Lines flights – the incredible thing is that the calendar shows exactly how many seats are available both in Economy Class and Business Class each day of the month.

For example, let’s say we want to fly from London (LHR) to Seattle (SEA) on Delta. We would visit Virgin’s new award search tool:

https://travelplus.virginatlantic.com/reward-flight-finder

and then simply input our flight details:

Virgin Atlantic’s New Award Availability Tool

then we get a wonderful month’s view and are shown what is available and what isn’t:

Virgin Atlantic’s New Award Availability Tool

and based on that information, we can quickly confirm (using a new search on Virgin’s main page) that the flight is in fact available:

Delta award availability using Virgin Atlantic points

and, just for laughs, compare how many miles Delta wants for their own flight:

Delta award availability using Delta miles

The award availability we find on Virgin’s calendar for Delta flights should also exactly match what we can find with Air France/KLM since Delta will simply release seats either to no partners or all partners – so if a Delta flight is bookable through Virgin Atlantic, it should also be with AF/KL.

All in All

I love both flying Virgin Atlantic and redeeming their points. While their frequent flyer program may not be able to take you to every place in the world, it does offer some unique redemption opportunities on a number of airlines. The best part is that most of Virgin Atlantic’s phone agents are very competent and know what you are talking about when you want to make a booking on a partner airline using points.

Virgin Atlantic’s new award availability tool is incredible – to be able to easily check a month’s worth of availability quickly is very powerful. While this tool was just launched, my hope is that Virgin Atlantic makes searching for award space on more of their partner airlines available this way – and that eventually all of their partners will be fully bookable online (right now you have to call to book some of their airline partners).

The post New & Easy Way to Check Partner Delta Award Availability appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Redeem Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles

HawaiianMiles is the frequent flyer program of Hawaiian Airlines and you’re able to both earn and redeem miles on all eligible Hawaiian Airlines flights. If you don’t have any HawaiianMiles you can transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards (1:1 ratio and instant transfer) or Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 ratio and average transfer time is 1-2 days).

The award chart can be viewed here. You will notice there are a few award charts – depending on the regions you are traveling from and to. Flights within Hawaii are usually inexpensive and therefore it may not make sense to redeem miles for those (unless traveling during a peak period where the revenue cost is high but there is award availability).

The best redemptions include:

• Hawaii to/from North America in First Class for 40,000 miles one-way
• Hawaii to/from Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand in Business Class for 65,000 miles one-way
• Hawaii to/from Pago Pago and Papeete in Business Class for 47,500 miles one-way
• Hawaii to/from Pago Pago and Papeete in Economy Class for 27,500 miles one-way

All prices mentioned above are for the lowest (saver) level award availability. Redeeming 40,000 miles for a one-way First Class lie-flat seat on a nonstop flight from New York to Honolulu is a fantastic redemption and something you’re unlikely to find on other U.S. airlines.

redeem miles for flights on Hawaiian Airlines

Redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles

You can redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles on select Hawaiian Airlines flights – but not all flights. Furthermore, any flight within Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines requires a separate award and cannot be combined with other Hawaiian Airlines flights (for example, Kauai – Honolulu – Tokyo cannot be booked on one award). You can redeem AA miles for Hawaiian Airlines flights within Hawaii and their international flights from Honolulu.

Award pricing is based on AA’s flight award chart for oneworld and partner airlines. You’re able to mix and match airlines, for example, you could fly Honolulu to Tokyo on Hawaiian Airlines and then Tokyo to Osaka on Japan Airlines all on one award. You can fly to the Asia 2 region via the Asia 1 region (Japan and Korea), so an award like Honolulu – Tokyo – Kuala Lumpur on Hawaiian Airlines and Malaysia Airlines is totally fine as long as the connection in Tokyo is under 24 hours.

Highlights of AA’s award chart include:

• Hawaii to Asia Region 1 in Business Class for 52,500 miles one-way
• Hawaii to Asia Region 2 in Business Class for 55,000 miles one-way
• Hawaii to the South Pacific in Business Class for 65,000 miles one-way

If there’s award space you could potentially fly something like Honolulu – Auckland – Sydney – Perth for 65,000 miles one-way in Business Class on Hawaiian Airlines and Qantas which would be a great use of AAdvantage miles.

If you don’t have any AAdvantage miles you can transfer points from Marriot Bonvoy (3:1 ratio and average transfer time is 2 days), Citi sometimes allows transfers from ThankYou points to AAdvantage but this isn’t permanent and rather an “offer” that has appeared before.

Redeem United Airlines MileagePlus miles

United Airlines no longer publishes an award chart so award redemption levels will vary but expect to redeem around 7,700 miles for a one-way flight within Hawaii in Economy. You can also add on a flight within Hawaii as part of your larger itinerary from the mainland U.S. For example, you can redeem United miles for a United flight from San Francisco to Honolulu and then Honolulu to Maui on Hawaiian Airlines all on the same award.

If you don’t have any MileagePlus miles you can transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards (1:1 ratio and instant transfer) or Marriott Bonvoy (3:1.1 ratio and average transfer time is 1-2 days).

Redeem Delta Air Lines SkyMiles

Delta Air Lines no longer publishes an award chart so award redemption levels will vary but expect to redeem around 7,500 miles for a one-way flight within Hawaii in Economy. You can also add on a flight within Hawaii as part of your larger itinerary from the mainland U.S. For example, you can redeem Delta miles for a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu and then Honolulu to Maui on Hawaiian Airlines all on the same award.

If you don’t have any SkyMiles you can transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards (1:1 ratio and instant transfer) or Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 ratio and average transfer time is 1 day).

Redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points

Virgin Atlantic has some unique airline partners and one of them is Hawaiian Airlines. You can view the award chart for Hawaiian Airlines here. Virgin Atlantic miles are relatively easy to earn since you can transfer them from American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou points (1:1 ratio and instant transfer) or Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 ratio and average transfer time is 1-2 days).

Highlights of the award chart for Hawaiian Airlines include:

• Hawaii – West Coast Mainland USA in Business Class for 40,000 points one-way
• Hawaii – South Pacific in Business Class for 47,500 points one-way
• Hawaii – South Pacific in Economy Class for 27,500 points one-way
• Hawaii – Asia/Australia/New Zealand/East Coast Mainland USA in Business Class for 65,000 points one-way

fly to Hawaii using miles

Other Hawaiian Airlines Partners

Hawaiian Airlines is also partners with China Airlines, Japan Airlines, jetBlue Airways, Korean Air, and Virgin Australia. You may be able to also earn/redeem these points for travel on Hawaiian Airlines flights, but it is either hard to earn some of these miles/points or the value isn’t so great.

All in All

Hawaiian Airlines has some unique and cool flights that are outside of Hawaii for which you can redeem miles. Award availability in Economy is generally okay on their Asia flights, but harder to find on their South Pacific flights; First/Business Class is harder to book using miles, but not impossible.

Sometimes the best way to get to Asia or the South Pacific is via a stop in Hawaii. The U.S. state is conveniently positioned along the path of flights to the South Pacific and since those can generally be long from the U.S. mainland, a stop in Hawaii to stretch your legs (or even explore the islands for a few days), could be just what you need on your next trip.

The post Redeeming Miles for Hawaiian Airlines Flights appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

It’s often easiest to search segment-by-segment, so knowing the hubs is essential, especially when you’re looking for international flights.

Keep in mind that if a particular airline doesn’t have a hub in a desired city, it doesn’t mean that the airline doesn’t fly to/from that city!

Here is a list of airline hubs for some of the US’s largest airlines:

United Airlines

International hubs are in bold

• Denver – Denver International Airport (DEN)
• Houston – George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
• Los Angeles – Los Angeles International (LAX)
• Newark – Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Chicago – O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• San Francisco – San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
• Washington – Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
• Guam – Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM)
• Tokyo – Narita International Airport (NRT)

American Airlines

• Charlotte – Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
• Chicago – O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Dallas – Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
• Los Angeles – Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Miami – Miami International Airport (MIA)
• New York – John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• New York – LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• Philadelphia – Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
• Phoenix – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
• Washington – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)

Delta

• Cincinnati – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
• Detroit – Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
• Atlanta – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• New York City – John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• New York City – LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• Boston – Logan International Airport (BOS)
• Los Angeles – Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Minneapolis – Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
• Salt Lake City – Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
• Seattle – Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

Southwest airlines calls the airports where they have a large presence as operating bases.

Southwest

• Dallas – Dallas Love Field (DAL)
• Chicago – Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
• Houston – William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
• Baltimore – Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI)
• Atlanta – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• Denver – Denver International Airport (DEN)
• Las Vegas – McCarran International Airport (LAS)
• Oakland – Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK)
• Orlando – Orlando International Airport (MCO)
• Phoenix – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

Jet Blue doesn’t have “hubs”, but rather Focus Cities

Jet Blue

• New York City – John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
• Boston – Logan International Airport (BOS)
• Long Beach – Long Beach Airport (LGB)
• San Juan – Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU)
• Orlando – Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Alaska Airlines

Focus Cities are in bold

• Los Angeles – Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Portland – Portland International Airport (PDX)
• Seattle – Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
• Anchorage – Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)
• San Diego – San Diego International Airport (SAN)
• San Jose – Norman Y Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC)

Conclusion

This list could come in handy to know how to plan your future travel.  It is also helpful so that you know which airline to pursue elite status with if that is one of your goals.  If you happen to live close to one of the airports that are listed as a hub for several airlines, then you have lots of options!

Which is your favorite airline hub?

The post List of Major Airline Hubs appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Na Pali Coast in Kauai taken on our Honeymoon

We get a lot of questions about taking a dream vacation to Hawaii using rewards miles in our Travel Miles 101 Facebook group.

One question that gets asked many times is “Can I use frequent flyer miles to fly from one Hawaiian Island to another?”

The answer is definitely ‘YES,’ you can use miles.

In fact, the three major US legacy airlines (United, Delta and American) all allow you to use their miles for Hawaiian Airlines flights between islands (United lets you fly Island Air as well, though that’s a much smaller airline).

Here’s a step-by-step guide using each of the three programs plus I’ll show you how to find these flights on the Hawaiian Airlines website to see if using miles makes sense as they can be rather inexpensive to begin with:

Check What Flights Exist Using Wikipedia

The first thing I always do when getting ready to research award flights is to check out the Wikipedia page for the airports in question.

In this case, I assumed I was going from Maui to Kauai so I Googled “Maui Airport wiki”, found the airport code (OGG), and then scrolled down to the “airlines and destinations” section and found these Hawaiian Airlines options:

I was quite pleased to see Lihue (LIH) in Kauai as an option so I knew I’d be able to use United, Delta and American miles if flights were available.

Using United Miles to Fly Between Hawaiian Islands

Okay, the first thing we do is search from the United.com homepage.  In this example we’re flying between Maui (OGG) and Kauai (LIH) on May 15, 2017.  Notice that we clicked “search for award travel” and “nonstop”:

Here’s the award calendar that shows Saver Award Economy seats on the nonstop flights on May 15th (and all other days that month):

After clicking on the 15th we scroll down and see that there are 3 direct flights between OGG and LIH on Hawaiian Airlines:

The flight costs 6,000 United miles plus the standard $5.60 fee for each one-way flight between Hawaii Islands.

Using American Airlines Miles to Fly Between Hawaiian Islands

We first search from the main AA.com homepage with our flight details and click “Redeem Miles” and then “Search”:

Next we come to the availability calendar which looks promising as there is “Economy MileSAAver” availability every day for 7,500 American Airlines miles.

Out of habit I selected the “Non-stop only” dropdown option as well:

After we click “Continue” we see the same three flights that were available using United miles:

Total cost to fly a one-way between Hawaiian Islands using American Airlines miles is 7,500 miles plus $5.60.

Using Delta Miles to Fly Between Hawaiian Islands

From the Delta.com homepage we enter our familiar flight details and click the “show price in miles” button and then “find flights”:

Delta also shows the same three Hawaiian Airlines flights available using miles:

Total cost to fly a one-way between Hawaiian Islands using Delta miles is 7,500 miles plus $5.60.

How to Tell if Using Miles is a Good Deal

The next thing I did was head over to the Hawaiian Airlines website to find the cash prices for these flights, so I entered our details in:

Here are the results which show our three familiar flights plus one other flight that day which evidently has no award availability:

These flights cost $111.00 which I’m assuming is all inclusive of taxes and fees.  So the apples-to-apples comparison after subtracting the $5.60 fee we pay on award seats is $105.40 we’d be saving using miles.

That means for 6,000 United miles we’re getting 1.75 cents per point in value and for 7,500 American or Delta miles we’d be getting 1.40 cents per point in value.

Though I always try to get 2 cents per point in value as a rough rule of thumb, this is not a bad deal at all, especially using United miles.

These are also small point requirements, so if you had some points remaining but not enough for an award ticket somewhere, you could make the case that this would help you fully utilize points that may not have otherwise had a simple redemption.

The post How to Use Miles to Fly Between Hawaiian Islands appeared first on Travel Miles 101.

Finding Award Space On Delta

The first step you need to take is to go to the Delta website.

Once you’re on the Delta homepage, click on “Advanced Search”

Next, fill out your flight search criteria.  You’ll enter where you’re flying from and your destination airport.  Then select “One Way”, and enter in your desired travel date, and the number of passengers.  Then select “Miles”, then click on the red arrow. I always select “One Way” on award searches.  You can also choose to check the box to “Include Nearby Airports” so that your search yields more results.

Once the initial award space calendar shows up, select “5 weeks” to show more available dates around the date entered on your search. Also, if you’re not looking for Delta metal specifically, then select “Delta & Partner Airlines”.  Then click “Update Results”.

Once you’ve expanded the calendar, you’ll see the available saver level dates.  By seeing roughly a month’s worth of dates, this will allow you to weigh your options.  You’ll notice that there are several dates available for 5,500 SkyMiles one way. That’s because there happens to be a flash sale at the time of this writing between Boston and Tampa Bay.  Taking advantage of these flash sales will allow you to score some nice mileage savings!

Once you see a date that you like, click on that date to see your flight options.  In this example, I selected March 24th. This is the available route at the saver level price and the number of seats available at that price.

Once your flight option has been selected, click on it to see your total price.

Conclusion

As you can see, finding award space on Delta is pretty easy.  The tough thing is knowing what saver level awards are since Delta doesn’t publish an award chart anymore.  However, if you know of an award sale, you’ll know what price to look for. Also, if you’re looking for partner award availability, you won’t need to be concerned with Delta’s pricing so much.  With the frequent flash sales that Delta has been offering recently, it’s a great option to finding a cheap award flight.

The post Finding Award Space On Delta Air Lines appeared first on Travel Miles 101.