It’s been a tough 18 months in the frequent flyer world. It’s easier than ever to earn points, but the cost of awards has gone up, up, up.
Miles and points have been very good to me, and I do my best to give back where I can. I don’t make a public show of my charity, but I do my best to give the best advice I can and to offer giveaways when things are offered to me. And when I have gift cards, I can either turn them into money orders or do various frequent flyer experiments, or I can give them away.
So here, I thought I would give away $400. And what better way to give them away than to my readers who comment on this post?
Goodness knows it’s been a tough 15 months or so for frequent flyers.
- United devalued its award chart, especially premium cabin awards and especially partner awards in first class.
- Delta devalued its award chart, and then decided they didn’t want to wait for changes to go into effect so they imposed an interim devaluation. Then they finally decided to go revenue-based.
- Southwest devalued its points, underscoring just how arbitrary such changes can be — there’s no fundamental reason to devalue a revenue-based frequent flyer program, higher ticket prices automatically make an award cost more already. Here they just decided to make their points worth less.
- American eliminated international gateway stopovers and distance-based awards and US Airways eliminated the 90,000 mile business class award.
- Hilton devalued the most among hotels, such that I am no longer inclined to stay with them when I can avoid it. I didn’t re-up my Diamond status (or accept free Gold status).
- Others devalued as well – Marriott with big award category shifts, Hyatt with a new more expensive award category 7 and other changes.
And that’s just a small sampling.
So I would like to focus on something positive for a change, and I’m looking to you for help to do so!
Here are the prizes:
- (4) $100 gift cards
So here’s how you enter.
- Leave a comment on this blog post. Say something positive above miles and points, blogs, forums, or your fellow travelers.
- Enter by Noon Eastern, Friday May 30. That’s 4 days from this writing, and there are four prizes.
- Enter no more than 4 times. Four prizes, four days to enter, you can enter by commenting up to four times. (It doesn’t have to be one per day, the only limitation is that you cannot enter twice in a row you have to at least wait for someone else to enter before you enter again each time.)
- Four prize winners will be drawn at random. As in past, I will use random.org for the drawing.
- Fine print. Void where prohibited by law. All of my decisions are final and unappealable, I want to make giveaways as easy as possible and with the fewest headaches possible.
So, what do you like about miles and points, blogs, forums, or your fellow travelers?
- You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Without miles and points I would never be able to book my honeymoon so cheap in comparison.
UR now transfers to SQ!! SQ suites are now more available for awards.
This hobby helps me stay mindful and protective of my credit (e.g., FICO score), one of my most valued assets.
Even with all the devaluation, all these credit Application in the past two year have help me I understand my credit more and boost my score. So thank you
I’m just getting started with miles and I see nothing but possibility! I just booked my first award flight last week! Can’t wait to do more.
I really enjoy reading travel blogs such as yours. Each post inspires me to keep traveling and expand my horizons!
this hobby lets me spend more time with my family….we get to visit each other often!
Without miles and points I wouldn’t have ever flown on British Airways 747 first class, a dream since I was a child!
I love the generosity of the blogger community to share all the tips and tricks for free, and for your willingness to answer my emails personally! The trips I’ve done the last 3 years wouldn’t have been possible without these sites, I’m extremely grateful!
Miles has allowed me to fly First Class to Alaska.
Miles has allowed me to fly to Hong Kong with a stopover in Tokyo.
Miles has allowed me to visit London more than once.
Miles has allowed me to visit Athens.
I’m thankful for blogs like yours that keep us informed on travel.
I appreciate how travel blogs like yours teach how points can be used across various partnerships.
United’s devaluation finally kicked me into booking some amazing partner first class travel!
I love the anticipation of an upcoming award trip. I’m taking my 14 year old to HKG in Cathay Pacific first in two weeks. I think she’ll like it.
Manufactured spending has gone a long way to compensate for the devaluations. I can still fly and stay for free wherever I want to go.
Thank you for all your hard work researching and sharing your knowledge of the points game. My travel has become so much more rewarding by playing the points game to fly and stay at places that I always thought were out of reach for me. Thank you!
Miles are easier to get than ever thanks to credit cards/gift cards.
Thanks to you, I was able to book my dream trip this winter: SFO-HKG-HKT-DPS and back. In First Class. With 2 good friends 🙂
Had a great two for one stay on points at Park Plaza Victoria Hotel in Amsterdam thanks to Club Carlson card.
You have so many followers that I may not stand a chance of winning but I feel like a winner for having found your blog and being able to take advantage of trips of a lifetime
I am positive that your site and advice has taught me so much. Thank you!
Almost free travel ! Nothing else need be said !!!!
I still like travel if someone else is paying for it.
Despite all of the devaluations, most of the business class and first class award tickets are still attainable by miles. I do not think I am able to afford any of these tickets by paying cash!!
I love how points allow me to have luxury experiences that I could never afford in my daily life.
I am so thankful to my fellow travelers who have helped me plan my trips through their useful tips via trip reports.
Short haul flights with Avios are still a good deal.
Even after Hyatt’s devaluation, redemptions are still a good value. Hyatt is also still dependable and has some very nice properties…especially the Vendome – my wife and I stayed four nights in an executive suite there over Christmas this year using points.
I have used miles and points to offset the costs of traveling for myself and my family. Your blog provides a great analysis and teaches me a lot about earning miles and points. Thank you.
Despite the fact that every so often the value of points decreases, we are still getting our travel subsidized for spending we would do anyway
can anyone say free hotel buffett???!
What I appreciate the most about the frequent flyer community is the sense of camaraderie that we share. Everyone shares tips for traveling more comfortably, with children, on a budget, etc. It’s a real community with a real sense of support and friendship.
What I like is that, no matter how difficult airlines or hotels may make it for people to be able to afford travel, people still make travel a priority, simply because they consider exploring the world beyond their little circle of comfort to be vital to their health, happiness and existence. That gives me hope!
Thankful for the friends I met through these blogs.
With miles, I can try my first business class experience
Love taking (almost) free vacations on points/miles!
Thanks to points and miles I get to experience flying First Class once in my lifetime. 🙂
With business class, I get to enjoy lounges… free alcohol and snack
There’s always a new product to excite us and change the game, even if it is temporary
Miles are allowing my partner and I to go on a great vacation to Hong Kong!
I have still be able to get International first class flights whenever I have wanted them. I just have to be a little flexible – different airport, routing, or dates, but so far it keeps working.
Love the fact that Hilton Gold status gets free breakfast!
The Miles game is still on. Thanks to blogs like yours we get valuable information on the best ways to earn a and use miles.
Positive: When one opportunity closes, another one always opens.
Without the credit card bonuses most of us would not be able to take the same amount of vacations or enjoy the luxuries we get to redeem our points for
Earning miles has helped me pay closer attention to my finances which in turn has helped me improve my spending habits, my credit, and has helped me get a lot closer to some dream vacations I never thought were possible!
Appreciate all the time and effort you put into this blog.