The Best Award Ticket Sweetspots

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Every frequent flyer program has a sweetspot. Whether it is a simple or complex redemption, there is always a frequent flyer program that works best for the award ticket you want to book. The key is having access to miles in that specific program – this is where it becomes incredibly important to ensure you […]

SkyTeam Alliance: An Overview

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  SkyTeam is the last airline alliance to be founded (behind Star Alliance and oneworld). The SkyTeam alliance arguably doesn’t have many “world-class” airlines, whereas Star Alliance and oneworld have some incredible airlines. I would argue Air France and Delta are the best airlines in this alliance. SkyTeam airlines operate flights to more than 1,000 […]

Earning, Redeeming, and Elite Benefits with Alaska Global Partners

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Seattle’s Hometown Airline, Alaska Airlines, is arguably the world’s most unique airline in terms of partnerships it has created. Alaska Airlines operates their own flights within the United States and to Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. The airline is not a member of any major airline alliance and instead has formed interesting partnerships with many […]

oneworld: An Alliance Overview

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  Star Alliance remains the world’s #1 airline alliance in terms of passenger benefits, airlines, loyalty, etc. The world’s next important airline alliance is oneworld. While oneworld is certainly not as big as Star Alliance, it remains the world’s second most important airline alliance in terms of connecting people and ideas all over the world. […]

Alternatives When There’s No Award Availability

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  You’ve built up a massive amount of frequent flyer miles over the past year through flying, staying with hotels, renting cars, and spending money on your credit card. Now it is time to book and you’re frustrated that there’s no award availability on your desired date between your origin and destination. You’re not the […]

Star Alliance: An Overview

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  The world’s “big” three, most important airline alliances include Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam. Star Alliance is the world’s largest airline alliance with 27 member airlines and the strongest route network. Star Alliance was founded on 14 May 1997 by five airlines – Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, THAI Airways, and United Airlines. […]

Avoiding Airline Award Ticket Service Fees

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The beauty of redeeming frequent flyer miles is that often the change and cancellation fees are low to none. Redeeming miles is an “award” and therefore the costs associated with that award should be limited (which is why I believe all airlines should not charge you fuel surcharges on award tickets). Sometimes something unexpected happens […]

American Airlines AAdvantage Award Transit Rules

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  The American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flyer program is one of the best in the oneworld alliance. While AA does have high mileage prices for some regions, the program is still worth looking into – especially when flying to Asia, the South Pacific, the Middle East, or the Indian Subcontinent. Sadly, AA miles are not the […]

Tips for Smarter Travel Next Year

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I hope everyone has been enjoying their holidays as much as me – on the beach, relaxing. 🙂 This early in January, I figured it would be ideal that I outline some great tips for better (and smarter) travel in the new year. While I do not have much booked for 2019 yet, I do […]

Understanding International First Class Award Space

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International First Class is the best way to redeem frequent flyer miles. Not Business Class, Premium Economy Class, or Economy Class. The main reason being that airlines price International First Class usually at over $10,000 USD per round-trip ticket, making it an excellent use of your miles. International Business Class is priced at around $3,000 […]