Finding the least expensive award options - Revision history

Editor: /* Finding your cheapest option */

2021-08-12T23:16:38Z

‎Finding your cheapest option

Editor at 23:15, 12 August 2021

2021-08-12T23:15:29Z

Editor: Undo revision 35006 by Editor (talk)

2021-02-21T22:03:33Z

Undo revision 35006 by Editor (talk)

Editor at 21:45, 21 February 2021

2021-02-21T21:45:53Z

Editor: /* Other considerations */

2021-02-21T20:39:49Z

‎Other considerations

Editor: /* Option 2: Manually check the likely options */

2021-02-21T20:24:22Z

‎Option 2: Manually check the likely options

Editor: /* Option 2: Manually check the likely options */

2021-02-21T20:22:20Z

‎Option 2: Manually check the likely options

Editor: /* Option 2: Manually check the likely options */

2021-02-21T20:20:03Z

‎Option 2: Manually check the likely options

Editor: /* Award comparison tools */

2021-02-20T06:43:19Z

‎Award comparison tools

Editor: Editor moved page Finding the Least Expensive Award Options to Finding the least expensive award options without leaving a redirect

2021-02-19T04:35:44Z

Editor moved page Finding the Least Expensive Award Options to Finding the least expensive award options without leaving a redirect

@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
 We wish we could tell you some secret way to quickly figure out your best option. But, unfortunately, there is no quick and reliable way to compare your options.
-==== Option 1: Juicy Miles ====
+==== Option 1: Manually check the likely options ====
 '''Unfortunately, the only way to get complete and accurate information is to check each program directly'''.
@@ Line 106: / Line 98: @@
 {{/Box}}
-==== Option 3: Search the web ====
+==== Option 2: Search the web ====
 '''An alternative approach (for uncovering which reward program to use) is to search the web''' using something like “best redemptions to asia” or “best redemptions to japan”. You are likely to find several blog posts that discuss various frequent flyer options. Just bear in mind that they are rarely comprehensive and typically somewhat out of date. However, they might help you discover a good option to book your flight that you won't uncover with the other approaches.

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 *[[#Other considerations|Other considerations]]
 {{/TOC}}
 {{Main|article}}
@@ Line 29: / Line 28: @@
 <ul class="bulletlist">
-<li>'''When there is award availability on a given flight, you can usually book a frequent flyer ticket with your choice of several different frequent flyer programs'''. For example, you can book a flight on American Airlines using British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or Etihad miles (which you can get from one of several different types of credit card points), with Malaysian, Qantas, or Qatar miles (which you get from ThankYou points), with American, Japan Airlines, or Qatar miles (which you can get from your Marriott points) or with Alaska Airlines miles.</li>
+<li>'''When there is saver-level award availability on a given flight, you can usually book a frequent flyer ticket with your choice of several different frequent flyer programs'''. For example, you can book a flight on American Airlines using British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or Etihad miles (which you can get from one of several different types of credit card points), with Malaysian, Qantas, or Qatar miles (which you get from ThankYou points), with American, Japan Airlines, or Qatar miles (which you can get from your Marriott points) or with Alaska Airlines miles.</li>
 <li>'''Each different program requires a different number of miles for the same flight'''. For example, if you are flying from Miami to Turks and Caicos, you could fly round trip for as little as 15,000 miles with British Airways or Cathay Pacific, for 25,000 miles with American (off-peak), for 35,000 miles for American (peak), or for as much as 40,000 miles with other airlines. Obviously, it’s better to use only 15,000 miles, rather than the “normal” 35,000 miles.</li>

@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 ==== Option 2: Manually check the likely options ====
-'''The only way to get complete and accurate information is to check each program directly'''.
+'''Unfortunately, the only way to get complete and accurate information is to check each program directly'''.
 <ul class="bulletlist">
@@ Line 75: / Line 75: @@
 <li>'''Eliminate any programs you don't have points for'''. For example, if you only have Ultimate Rewards points, there may be only a few programs you can use to book a specific ticket</li>
-<li>'''Check each program directly'''. Assuming you don't want to use Marriott points for award tickets, the following programs are the programs that are mostly likely to offer a good combination of points and fees. But other programs can sometimes be good options.</li>
+<li>'''Check each program directly'''. Assuming you don't want to use Marriott points for award tickets, the following programs are the mostly likely to offer a good combination of points and fees. But other programs can sometimes be good options.</li>
 <ul>
 *{{Transfer|AirCanada}} [//www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home.html Air Canada (Aeroplan)]
 *{{Transfer|ANA}} [//www.ana.co.jp/en/us/ ANA (All Nippon Airways)]
 *{{Transfer|Avianca}} [//www.lifemiles.com/fly/find Avianca]
 *{{Transfer|British}} [//www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_us/ British Airways]
 *{{Transfer|Cathay}} [//www.asiamiles.com/en/afr.html Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles)]
-*{{Transfer|Delta}} [//www.delta.com/ Delta]
+*{{Transfer|Iberia}} [//www.iberia.com/us/ Iberia]
 *{{Transfer|Etihad}} [//www.etihad.com/en/plan-and-book/book-redemption-flights/ Etihad]
 *{{Transfer|VirginAtlantic}} [//www.virginatlantic.com/us/en Virgin Atlantic]
 </ul>
@@ Line 152: / Line 159: @@
 === Other considerations ===
 Fuel surcharges aren’t the only reason to consider using a program that requires more miles.
 <ul class="bulletlist">
 <li>'''It can be worth spending extra miles to use a program that provides free stopovers'''.  Some frequent flyer programs allow you to add a free or inexpensive stopover on your trip. Other programs limit you to round trip travel or make you pay separately for each part of a multi-city itinerary. If you are interested in visiting more than one destination, it can make sense to pay more miles to book with a program that allows free stopovers, rather than paying fewer points for the main part of your trip and needing to use additional points or dollars to buy the extra flight between your destinations. {{Link|free stopovers}}.</li>
@@ Line 168: / Line 177: @@
 <li>'''It can be worthwhile to spend some extra points with a program that is easy to deal with'''. Some programs are simply easier to deal with than others. They allow you to book your tickets online, have well-designed websites, answer the phones quickly, have customer service representatives whose native language is English, and will spend the time to help you work through complex itineraries. Other programs, less so. Your time is valuable, and you might want to stick with a more accessible frequent flyer program, rather than trying to squeeze the maximum value from your points.</li>
 </ul>
 {{/Main|article}}

@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 ==== Option 2: Manually check the likely options ====
-'''Unfortunately, the only way to get complete and accurate information is to check each program directly'''.
+'''The only way to get complete and accurate information is to check each program directly'''.
 <ul class="bulletlist">
@@ Line 75: / Line 75: @@
 <li>'''Eliminate any programs you don't have points for'''. For example, if you only have Ultimate Rewards points, there may be only a few programs you can use to book a specific ticket</li>
-<li>'''Check each program directly'''. Assuming you don't want to use Marriott points for award tickets, the following programs are the mostly likely to offer a good combination of points and fees. But other programs can sometimes be good options.</li>
+<li>'''Check each program directly'''. Assuming you don't want to use Marriott points for award tickets, the following programs are the programs that are mostly likely to offer a good combination of points and fees. But other programs can sometimes be good options.</li>
 <ul>
 *{{Transfer|AirCanada}} [//www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home.html Air Canada (Aeroplan)]
 *{{Transfer|ANA}} [//www.ana.co.jp/en/us/ ANA (All Nippon Airways)]
 *{{Transfer|Avianca}} [//www.lifemiles.com/fly/find Avianca]
 *{{Transfer|Singapore}} [//www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/us/ppsclub-krisflyer/use-miles/redeem-miles/ Singapore]
 *{{Transfer|Turkish}} [//www.turkishairlines.com/ Turkish]
 *{{Transfer|United}} [//www.united.com/en/us United]
 *{{Transfer|VirginAtlantic}} [//www.virginatlantic.com/us/en Virgin Atlantic]
 </ul>
@@ Line 159: / Line 152: @@
 === Other considerations ===
 Fuel surcharges aren’t the only reason to consider using a program that requires more miles.
 <ul class="bulletlist">
 <li>'''It can be worth spending extra miles to use a program that provides free stopovers'''.  Some frequent flyer programs allow you to add a free or inexpensive stopover on your trip. Other programs limit you to round trip travel or make you pay separately for each part of a multi-city itinerary. If you are interested in visiting more than one destination, it can make sense to pay more miles to book with a program that allows free stopovers, rather than paying fewer points for the main part of your trip and needing to use additional points or dollars to buy the extra flight between your destinations. {{Link|free stopovers}}.</li>
@@ Line 177: / Line 168: @@
 <li>'''It can be worthwhile to spend some extra points with a program that is easy to deal with'''. Some programs are simply easier to deal with than others. They allow you to book your tickets online, have well-designed websites, answer the phones quickly, have customer service representatives whose native language is English, and will spend the time to help you work through complex itineraries. Other programs, less so. Your time is valuable, and you might want to stick with a more accessible frequent flyer program, rather than trying to squeeze the maximum value from your points.</li>
 </ul>
 {{/Main|article}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:39, 21 February 2021
Line 159:		Line 159:

	=== Other considerations ===		=== Other considerations ===
		+
		+	{{Box\|Promo Awards}}
		+	'''Particularly for flights to Europe, several popular programs offer promotional rates for different routes.''' It can be worthwhile seeing if any of these promotional rates apply to your trip, as the promotional prices usually require the fewest points of any option (but typically have hefty fuel surcharges). {{Link\|promo awards}}.
		+	{{/Box}}

	Fuel surcharges aren’t the only reason to consider using a program that requires more miles.		Fuel surcharges aren’t the only reason to consider using a program that requires more miles.

@@ Line 125: / Line 125: @@
 {{Image|AwardHackerResults.png}}
-<li>'''[//www.milez.biz/en/list_rates.php Milez]'''.  Milez.biz supports many less often used programs that are not supported by AwardHacker. However, the information is somewhat less reliable and the website is much harder to use. For example, you can’t sort the results by the number of miles required—it requires you to scan through a hard-to-read list instead. Furthermore, it often does a terrible job calculating the required amount of award points with distance-based programs.  However, it is the only way to uncover good award redemption opportunities with programs that are not supported on other sites.  Especially if you have might be using Marriott points, which transfer to a large number of less often used programs, we strongly recommend checking this site, along with AwardHacker.</li>
+<li>'''[//www.milez.biz/en/list_rates.php Milez]'''.  Milez.biz supports many less often used programs that are not supported by AwardHacker. However, the information is somewhat less reliable and the website is much harder to use. For example, you can’t sort the results by the number of miles required—it requires you to scan through a hard-to-read list instead. Furthermore, it often does a terrible job calculating the required amount of award points with distance-based programs.  However, it is the only way to uncover good award redemption opportunities with programs that are not supported on other sites.  Especially if you might be using Marriott points, which transfer to a large number of less often used programs, we strongly recommend checking this site, along with AwardHacker.</li>
 {{Image|MilezResults.png}}

← Older revision	Revision as of 04:35, 19 February 2021
(No difference)