People often ask me how they can squeeze the most value out of their frequent flyer miles. I begin my answer by stating that maximizing monetary value and actual value are two very different things and ultimately there is...
US Airways Star Alliance International Awards Frequently Asked Questions
Even though it is becoming easier to search for award flights with the addition of Singapore, EgyptAir and Air China to Continental.com there still remains a myriad of rules that might confuse you. In addition to booking awards through...
Not a Glitch! Aeroplan Premium Cabin Awards on Sale
Last Friday I reported that Aeroplan, Air Canada’s mileage program, was pricing out business class awards at economy class prices and first class awards at business class prices. I speculated that some sort of IT glitch was behind the...
More Fuel Surcharges Coming to Aeroplan
Just days after tacking on fuel surcharges to Lufthansa flights, Aeroplan has decided to share the love: Fuel surcharges to flight rewards on the following Star Alliance airlines will be effective as of the dates noted below: November 30th,...
My British Airways Executive Club Dilemma
With the extinction of British Airways’ Executive Club days away and a steep devaluation of BA miles feared for North American flyers in the new and still secret “Avios” program, I face a personal dilemma. Should I spend my...
Aeroplan Adds Fuel Surcharges to Lufthansa Awards Without Notice
The hits keep on coming for Aeroplan members. First, a devaluation of the award chart in June. That was followed by a recent decision to discontinue booking the domestic legs of business class tickets in first class. Now, arguably...
What do you do when you see award seats but cannot book them?
From time to time, award space will appear available, but when I attempt to book it I receive an error message or am told that seats are no longer available. But then when I search again, the space still...
Turkish Airlines Award Seats Now Bookable on Continental.com
As I have blogged about before, my favorite way to check for Star Alliance award space is with Continental Airlines’ online award search tool. It quickly searches space, offers triple connections if necessary, and presents a two-month calendar so...
A Battle with United Reservations Over Award Routing Rules
Considering I book multiple awards per week, mostly from US carriers, I have become intimately acquainted with award routing rules on the legacy carriers like United, Delta, American, and US Airways. You would not believe how often the agents...
Update: Continental Airlines Saves the Day
I was pretty bummed last night upon discovering that a Continental agent inadvertently misspelled the names of 3/4 of the passengers on a complex award reservation, then being told that there was no solution to the problem. But the...
Fixing an Award Booking that Continental Destroyed
I cannot think of anything more aggravating than spending hours upon hours constructing and booking an award reservation only to find the tickets were issued incorrectly and the prospects for correction are slim. I have been working all week...
Reader Help Needed: Haneda to Gimpo or Narita to Incheon?
If all goes according to plan, I will be traveling to Japan and South Korea next month. It will be my first time in both countries and I am working now to finalize my flights between Tokyo and Seoul using...
British Midland’s Disgusting Award Surcharges
British Midland’s (bmi) Diamond Club award program boasts on its home page, "Free airmiles. Free flights." After forking out over £1,100 (~$1,800) in taxes and surcharges for two business class tickets, I think it is an insult and a...
Enhancements to United’s Mileage Plus Award Booking Tool
Just days after loosening up award routing rules, United has now made booking an award online a little easier–at least in theory. New features rolled out this week on United’s Mileage Plus website include the ability to book: Mixed...
One Potential Downside to United’s New Routing Rules for Star Alliance Awards
Last week I blogged about generous changes to United’s award chart including the ability to schedule in both an open-jaw and a stopover (previously only one was allowed on a r/t ticket) and the ability to surpass the MPM...
Next Destination for Lufthansa A380: San Francisco
Right in the middle of our podcast tonight, Ben suddenly blurted out “Holy cow! Lufthansa just announced that SFO is getting the A380.” This was followed by furious typing then a quick quip, “Guys, they haven’t loaded in the...
New 12-Hour Mandatory Hold Rule on United Mileage Plus Star Alliance Award Bookings?
Some on Flyertalk are reporting that United reservation agents are quoting a new 12-hour mandatory hold rule when booking a Star Alliance award. But United, an airline I love to call consistently inconsistent, doesn’t seem to be strictly enforcing...
Rumor: United will Introduce One-Way Star Alliance Awards on November 1st
According to this thread on FT, multiple United Airlines’ reservations agents have shared that one-way Star Alliance awards will be available for booking at the end of the month. Not taking their word for it, I called UA reservations...
United Torpedos My Lufthansa Award Flights
I got a call from 1-800-United1 yesterday while I was on another line and sent it to voice mail. A recorded message was left and I figured it was just an upgrade notification for my flight to SFO on Friday....
My Award Trip is Booked
An update on my award trip: it is booked. I called back UA and ticketed it without any hassle. I don’t know if there are any damaging notes on the reservation that will prevent me from making changes when space on...
